A♭m7 guitar chord

The shape

Tap the diagram to hear A♭m7 strummed. A♭m7 is played as a barre chord around fret 4: lay a finger across the strings at that fret and build the shape on top. Movable, so the same grip works up and down the neck.

The notes in A♭m7

A minor seventh chord is spelled from its root up: A♭ (R), C♭ (♭3), E♭ (5), G♭ (♭7). Those are the only notes in A♭m7 — play them in any order, in any octave, and it's still A♭m7.

What a minor seventh chord is

In plain terms, a minor 7th adds a flat seventh to a minor chord (root, ♭3, 5th, ♭7) — a minor chord with the edges rounded off.

How it's used: The ii, iii and vi of a major key, and the i, iv and v of a minor key. The ii chord in a ii–V–I is almost always a m7.

The sound: Smooth, cool, mellow — minor without the gloom. Where you'll hear it: Jazz, funk, soul, R&B, and the pre-dominant chord in a jazz cadence.

Hear A♭m7 in a progression

A cool minor vamp: i7–iv7. Press play, and drag the Key control to move it anywhere.

Keys that use A♭m7

A♭m7 appears naturally in these keys — click any to see all seven of its chords and how A♭m7 fits in:

Other A♭ chords

minor seventh chords on other roots

Chords and their spellings are shared facts of music theory. Every diagram and sound here is generated by ThunderFret's own engine — no tabs, lyrics or recordings are reproduced.