Am7 chord on guitar

Am7 is the A minor seventh chord, made of the notes A C E G. Most guitarists play it as X 0 2 0 1 0, an open chord. Below are all 6 ways to hold Am7 on the guitar, from the lowest on the neck to the highest, and the same chord in Drop D and DADGAD. The TabTunix app plays each one. Check out our full chord library.

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1fr21
Am7

X 0 2 0 1 0

Notes

Degrees: R b3 5 b7. Notes: A C E G.

Tuning

Inversions

Voicings

How to play Am7

The shape most players use is X 0 2 0 1 0, from the lowest string to the highest. Hold it like this:

  1. Put your middle finger on the D string at fret 2.
  2. Put your index finger on the B string at fret 1.
  3. Let the A, G and high E strings ring open.
  4. Do not play the low E string.
1fr21
Am7
X 0 2 0 1 0

6 ways to play Am7

Every shape the chord library holds for Am7 in standard tuning, from low on the neck to high. In each one A is the lowest note; they differ in where your hand sits and in which strings ring.

More shapes, for every chord: all guitar chords.

  • 1fr21
    Am7
    X 0 2 0 1 0
    open shape
  • 3fr2134
    Am7
    5 3 5 5 X X
    closed shape at fret 3
  • 5fr3
    Am7
    5 7 5 5 5 5
    barre at fret 5
  • 7fr1423
    Am7
    X X 7 9 8 8
    closed shape at fret 7
  • 10fr234
    Am7
    X 12 10 12 10 12
    barre at fret 10
  • 12fr32
    Am7
    X 12 14 12 13 12
    barre at fret 12

The notes in Am7

Rb35b7
ACEG

A minor seventh chord is the root, the minor third, the fifth and the minor seventh: R b3 (5) b7. The fifth can be left out.

Put another of its notes in the bass and Am7 becomes an inversion, written with a slash: Am7/C, Am7/E and Am7/G. Below, the first shape of each.

  • 3fr1
    Am7/C
    X 3 5 5 5 5
  • 1fr21
    Am7/E
    0 0 2 0 1 0
  • 1fr321
    Am7/G
    3 0 2 0 1 0

Keys and progressions with Am7

Am7 is one of the chords of these keys, with its number in each. The chords of a key are the chords built on the notes of its scale.

  • vi7 in C major
  • iii7 in F major
  • ii7 in G major
  • v7 in D minor
  • iv7 in E minor
  • i7 in A minor

It stands in these chord progressions of the app, in the key each opens in:

  • Minor Blues in A minor: Am7, Dm7, F7, E7
  • I–vi–ii–V in C major: Cmaj7, Am7, Dm7, G7
  • Circle Turnaround in C major: Em7, Am7, Dm7, G7, Cmaj7
  • Circle of Fifths in C major: Am7, Dm7, G7, Cmaj7

Am7 in Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD

  • In Drop D you hold Am7 as in Standard: X 0 2 0 1 0.
  • In Drop C, Am7 is X 2 0 2 0 2, where Standard has X 0 2 0 1 0.
  • In Drop B, Am7 is X 3 5 3 4 3, where Standard has X 0 2 0 1 0.
  • In DADGAD, Am7 is X 0 2 0 3 2, where Standard has X 0 2 0 1 0.

More on each tuning: Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD, all under guitar tunings.

  • 1fr21
    Am7 in Drop D
    X 0 2 0 1 0
  • 1fr123
    Am7 in Drop C
    X 2 0 2 0 2
  • 3fr32
    Am7 in Drop B
    X 3 5 3 4 3
  • 1fr132
    Am7 in DADGAD
    X 0 2 0 3 2

Get the change up to tempo

A chord is yours when you can change to it in time. In TabTunix, put Am7 and the chord before it into a chord-change exercise, set a target tempo, and play the change to a click that counts you through it. Rate each take, and the app keeps your best tempo, so you see it climb.

More on how to change chords faster.

Questions about Am7

A, C, E and G. As degrees they are R b3 (5) b7: the root, the minor third, the fifth and the minor seventh.