Guitar chords · Minor 7th
Bm7 chord on guitar
Bm7 (B minor 7th) has four notes: B, D, F♯ and A, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., ♭3, 5 and ♭7.
Shapes
How to play Bm7
Strum a shape to hear it, or pick it one string at a time. R marks the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7.; the other numbers are the chord tones.
Bm7 has an A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., and two A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major.: the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 2 and the E shape at fret 7. A movable shape keeps its fingering anywhere on the neck: slide it up or down and the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., on the lowest played string, names the chord.
Open
A shape · fret 2
E shape · fret 7
Notes and formula
What makes Bm7 minor 7th
A minor A triad with one more 3rd on top, the 7th, which makes four notes: G7, Cmaj7 and Am7 are seventh chords. is a minor chord with a minor 7th added. It is mellower than a plain minor chord, and it is the ii chord of the ii–V–I in jazz and soul.
- 1Root: the note the chord is named after. Keep it.
- 3Essential: makes the chord what it is. Never drop it.
- 5Optional: drop it first when you run out of fingers.
The ♭3rd and the ♭7th make Bm7 a minor A triad with one more 3rd on top, the 7th, which makes four notes: G7, Cmaj7 and Am7 are seventh chords.; you can leave out the 5th.
- BRroot
- D♭3essential
- F♯5optional
- A♭7essential
- B, the root
- Other chord tones
Bm7 often leads to E7 and then A: the ii7–V7–I of A major.
Keys
Keys with Bm7
Bm7 belongs to six keys: G major (iii7), D major (vi7), A major (ii7), E minor (v7), B minor (i7) and F♯ minor (iv7).
Numerals follow the key's own scale, so III, VI and VII in a minor key are its own major chords. A ♭ or ♯ in front marks a chord from outside the key. How Roman numerals work
Progressions
Progressions with Bm7
Common progressions that use Bm7, each in a key that spells it Bm7. The outlined chord is Bm7.
Jazz ii–V–I in A major
ii7 – V7 – Imaj7
- Bm7
- E7
- Amaj7
Each chord falls a fifth to the next — a walk anticlockwise around the circle.
Heard in Autumn Leaves, Fly Me to the Moon
Minor ii–V–i in B minor
iiø7 – V7 – i7
- C♯m7♭5
- F♯7
- Bm7
Half-diminished ii, dominant V7 and back to the minor tonic.
Heard in Blue Bossa, Autumn Leaves
Slash chords
Bm7 over another bass note
A A chord with a different note in the bass, written after a slash: C/E is a C chord with E as its lowest note. The letter after the slash is the bass. keeps Bm7 on top and puts another note in the bass: the letter after the slash is the lowest note you play.
- Bm7/D
Bm7 with its ♭3rd, D, in the bass: the first inversion.
- Bm7/F♯
Bm7 with its 5th, F♯, in the bass: the second inversion.
- Bm7/A
Bm7 with its ♭7th, A, in the bass: the third inversion.
Same root
Other chords on B
Change one or two notes and the same The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7. gives a different colour. Compare them by ear.
- B major
- Bm minor
- B7 dominant 7th
- Bmaj7 major 7th
- Bsus2 suspended 2nd
- Bsus4 suspended 4th
- B6 major 6th
- Bm6 minor 6th
- Badd9 add 9
- B9 dominant 9th
- Bmaj9 major 9th
- Bm9 minor 9th
- B13 dominant 13th
- Bmaj13 major 13th
- Bm11 minor 11th
- B° diminished
- Bm7♭5 half-diminished 7th
- B°7 diminished 7th
- B+ augmented
- B5 power chord
- B7sus4 dominant 7th suspended 4th
- Bm(maj7) minor major 7th
- B6/9 six-nine
- Bm(add9) minor add 9
- B7♯9 dominant 7th sharp 9th
Questions
Bm7, in short
- What notes are in the Bm7 chord?
- Bm7 (B minor 7th) has four notes: B, D, F♯ and A, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., ♭3, 5 and ♭7.
- How do you play Bm7 on guitar?
- Bm7 has an A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., and two A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major.: the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 2 and the E shape at fret 7.
- What key is Bm7 in?
- Bm7 belongs to six keys: G major (iii7), D major (vi7), A major (ii7), E minor (v7), B minor (i7) and F♯ minor (iv7).