# E♭ Minor 7th piano chord (E♭m7)

E♭m7 contains E♭, G♭, B♭ and D♭. A minor triad with the minor seventh added on top. Every note is a black key.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/minor-7th/e-flat/
- Entity: chord:minor-7th:e-flat
- Notes: E♭ G♭ B♭ D♭
- Formula: 1 ♭3 5 ♭7
- Intervals from root: P1, m3, P5, m7
- Interval stack (semitones): 3 4 3
- Also written: E♭m7, Ebm7, E♭ minor 7th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | E♭ | Perfect unison | 0 |
| ♭3 | G♭ | Minor third | 3 |
| 5 | B♭ | Perfect fifth | 7 |
| ♭7 | D♭ | Minor seventh | 10 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 2 on E♭, finger 3 on G♭, finger 4 on B♭, finger 5 on D♭. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 2-3-4-5, left hand 5-4-3-2. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | E♭ | E♭3 G♭3 B♭3 D♭4 | 7 | 10 st, 138 mm |
| First inversion (E♭m7/G♭) | G♭ | G♭3 B♭3 D♭4 E♭4 | 6/5 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Second inversion (E♭m7/B♭) | B♭ | B♭3 D♭4 E♭4 G♭4 | 4/3 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Third inversion (E♭m7/D♭) | D♭ | D♭4 E♭4 G♭4 B♭4 | 4/2 | 9 st, 124 mm |

## Voicings (10)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | E♭3 G♭3 B♭3 D♭4 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | G♭3 B♭3 D♭4 E♭4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | B♭3 D♭4 E♭4 G♭4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, third inversion | D♭4 E♭4 G♭4 B♭4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 | B♭2 E♭3 G♭3 D♭4 | 15 st, 206 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 3 | G♭2 E♭3 B♭3 D♭4 | 19 st, 261 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 and 4 | E♭2 B♭2 G♭3 D♭4 | 22 st, 303 mm | identical | none |
| Shell, root ♭7 ♭3 | E♭2 D♭3 G♭3 | 15 st, 206 mm | subset | omits B♭ |
| Guide tones, ♭3 and ♭7 | G♭3 D♭4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits E♭ and B♭ |
| Rootless close | G♭3 B♭3 D♭4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits E♭ |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| D♭ major | iim7 | Predominant |
| E♭ minor | im7 | Tonic, home |
| G♭ major | vim7 | Tonic substitute |
| G♯ minor | vm7 | Minor dominant |
| B♭ minor | ivm7 | Subdominant |
| B major | iiim7 | Tonic substitute |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (8)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ii, V, I | D♭ major | iim7 | E♭m7 to A♭7 to D♭maj7 | E♭m7 opens the phrase |
| ii, v, i | E♭ minor | im7 | Fm7♭5 to B♭m7 to E♭m7 | 2 tones held from B♭m7 |
| iv, i | E♭ minor | im7 | A♭m7 to E♭m7 | 2 tones held from A♭m7 |
| i, ♭VI, ii, v | E♭ minor | im7 | E♭m7 to C♭maj7 to Fm7♭5 to B♭m7 | E♭m7 opens the phrase |
| vi, IV, I, V | G♭ major | vim7 | E♭m7 to C♭maj7 to G♭maj7 to D♭7 | E♭m7 opens the phrase |
| I, vi | G♭ major | vim7 | G♭maj7 to E♭m7 | 3 tones held from G♭maj7 |
| v, i | G♯ minor | vm7 | D♯m7 to G♯m7 | E♭m7 opens the phrase |
| ii, v, i | G♯ minor | vm7 | A♯m7♭5 to D♯m7 to G♯m7 | 2 tones held from A♯m7♭5 |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| E♭m9 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9 | adds F | 4 |
| E♭m | 1 ♭3 5 | drops D♭ | 3 |
| E♭7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | G♭ becomes G | 3 |
| E♭mMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | D♭ becomes D | 3 |
| E♭m7♭5 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 | B♭ becomes B♭♭ | 3 |
| E♭7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | G♭ becomes A♭ | 3 |
| E♭m6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | D♭ becomes C | 3 |
| E♭9 | 1 3 5 ♭7 9 | G♭ becomes G, F | 3 |
| E♭ | 1 3 5 | G♭, D♭ becomes G | 2 |
| E♭dim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | B♭, D♭ becomes B♭♭ | 2 |
| E♭sus2 | 1 2 5 | G♭, D♭ becomes F | 2 |
| E♭sus4 | 1 4 5 | G♭, D♭ becomes A♭ | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {3, 6, 10, 1}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 7, 10]
- Normal order: [10, 1, 3, 6]
- Prime form: (0358)
- Forte number: 4-26
- Interval vector: <012120>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| E♭3 | 51 | 155.56 Hz |
| G♭3 | 54 | 185.00 Hz |
| B♭3 | 58 | 233.08 Hz |
| D♭4 | 61 | 277.18 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in E♭m7?

E♭m7 contains E♭, G♭, B♭ and D♭. The formula is 1, ♭3, 5, ♭7.

### How do you play E♭m7 on piano?

Play E♭, G♭, B♭ and D♭ together. Right hand fingers 2, 3, 4, 5; left hand 5, 4, 3, 2. Every note is a black key.

### What are the inversions of E♭m7?

4 positions: root position E♭ G♭ B♭ D♭, E♭m7/G♭, E♭m7/B♭, E♭m7/D♭.

### What keys contain E♭m7?

6: iim7 in D♭ major, im7 in E♭ minor, vim7 in G♭ major, vm7 in G♯ minor, ivm7 in B♭ minor, iiim7 in B major.

### What is the difference between E♭m7 and E♭m9?

Adds F. 4 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy E♭m7 for small hands?

The guide tones, ♭3 and ♭7 voicing, G♭3 D♭4, spans 7 semitones or about 96 mm.

### What are the frequencies of E♭m7?

From E♭3 at A440 in 12-TET: 155.56, 185.00, 233.08, 277.18 Hz.

### What is the set class of E♭m7?

Prime form (0358), Forte 4-26, interval vector &lt;012120&gt;.

### How do I transpose E♭m7 to another key?

Keep the 1, ♭3, 5, ♭7 formula on the new root. Cm7 is C, E♭, G, B♭; C♯m7 is C♯, E, G♯, B.

### Is D♯m7 the same as E♭m7?

Enharmonically yes: the same piano keys and the same sound, spelled differently.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:minor-7th:e-flat
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12