# E Minor 7th piano chord (Em7)

Em7 contains E, G, B and D. A minor triad with the minor seventh added on top. Every note is a white key.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/minor-7th/e/
- Entity: chord:minor-7th:e
- 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: Em7, Em7, 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 1 on E, finger 2 on G, finger 3 on B, finger 5 on D. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | E | E3 G3 B3 D4 | 7 | 10 st, 138 mm |
| First inversion (Em7/G) | G | G3 B3 D4 E4 | 6/5 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Second inversion (Em7/B) | B | B3 D4 E4 G4 | 4/3 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Third inversion (Em7/D) | D | D4 E4 G4 B4 | 4/2 | 9 st, 124 mm |

## Voicings (10)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | E3 G3 B3 D4 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | G3 B3 D4 E4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | B3 D4 E4 G4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, third inversion | D4 E4 G4 B4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 | B2 E3 G3 D4 | 15 st, 206 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 3 | G2 E3 B3 D4 | 19 st, 261 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 and 4 | E2 B2 G3 D4 | 22 st, 303 mm | identical | none |
| Shell, root ♭7 ♭3 | E2 D3 G3 | 15 st, 206 mm | subset | omits B |
| Guide tones, ♭3 and ♭7 | G3 D4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits E and B |
| Rootless close | G3 B3 D4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits E |

## Diatonic function by key

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

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (8)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| iii, vi, ii, V | C major | iiim7 | Em7 to Am7 to Dm7 to G7 | Em7 opens the phrase |
| I, iii | C major | iiim7 | Cmaj7 to Em7 | 3 tones held from Cmaj7 |
| ii, V, I | D major | iim7 | Em7 to A7 to Dmaj7 | Em7 opens the phrase |
| ii, v, i | E minor | im7 | F♯m7♭5 to Bm7 to Em7 | 2 tones held from Bm7 |
| iv, i | E minor | im7 | Am7 to Em7 | 2 tones held from Am7 |
| i, ♭VI, ii, v | E minor | im7 | Em7 to Cmaj7 to F♯m7♭5 to Bm7 | Em7 opens the phrase |
| vi, IV, I, V | G major | vim7 | Em7 to Cmaj7 to Gmaj7 to D7 | Em7 opens the phrase |
| I, vi | G major | vim7 | Gmaj7 to Em7 | 3 tones held from Gmaj7 |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Em9 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9 | adds F♯ | 4 |
| Em | 1 ♭3 5 | drops D | 3 |
| E7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | G becomes G♯ | 3 |
| EmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | D becomes D♯ | 3 |
| Em7♭5 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 | B becomes B♭ | 3 |
| E7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | G becomes A | 3 |
| Em6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | D becomes C♯ | 3 |
| E9 | 1 3 5 ♭7 9 | G becomes G♯, F♯ | 3 |
| E | 1 3 5 | G, D becomes G♯ | 2 |
| Edim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | B, D becomes B♭ | 2 |
| Esus2 | 1 2 5 | G, D becomes F♯ | 2 |
| Esus4 | 1 4 5 | G, D becomes A | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {4, 7, 11, 2}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 7, 10]
- Normal order: [11, 2, 4, 7]
- Prime form: (0358)
- Forte number: 4-26
- Interval vector: <012120>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| E3 | 52 | 164.81 Hz |
| G3 | 55 | 196.00 Hz |
| B3 | 59 | 246.94 Hz |
| D4 | 62 | 293.66 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in Em7?

Em7 contains E, G, B and D. The formula is 1, ♭3, 5, ♭7.

### How do you play Em7 on piano?

Play E, G, B and D together. Right hand fingers 1, 2, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 2, 1. Every note is a white key.

### What are the inversions of Em7?

4 positions: root position E G B D, Em7/G, Em7/B, Em7/D.

### What keys contain Em7?

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

### What is the difference between Em7 and Em9?

Adds F♯. 4 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy Em7 for small hands?

The guide tones, ♭3 and ♭7 voicing, G3 D4, spans 7 semitones or about 96 mm.

### What are the frequencies of Em7?

From E3 at A440 in 12-TET: 164.81, 196.00, 246.94, 293.66 Hz.

### What is the set class of Em7?

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

### How do I transpose Em7 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.

## 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
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12