The Em7 ukulele chord is a simple chord that can add a lot of depth to your normal chord progression. The light tone of the ukulele allows 7th chords, especially minor 7th chords, to ring through beautifully.
In this lesson today we will cover several different versions of Em7 at all points along the neck. We will also cover the theory behind the chord so you can build your own chords.
Let’s get into it!
How To Play The Em7 Chord
This is the easiest way to play an Em7 without playing a barre chord.
- index finger (1) on the D note of the C string at the 2nd fret
- middle finger (2) on the B note on the A string at the 2nd fret
- now play the G and E strings open
Variations Of The Chord
If you are comfortable playing barre chords, this version is really easy. You literally need just one finger.
This version is a little more difficult, but, as you can see, is still pretty simple to play. You just place your:
- index finger (1) barred across all strings at the 7th fret
Another variation is:
- index finger (1) on the root G note on the E string at the 3rd fret
- middle finger (2) on the B and E notes on the G and C strings at the 4th fret
- ring finger (3) on the D note on the A string at the 5th fret
You can also play Em7 further up the neck with a higher voicing.
- index finger (1) fretting the E note on the G string at the 9th fret
- middle finger (2) fretting the D & G notes on the E & A strings at the 10th fret
- ring finger (3) fretting the B note on the C string at the 11th fret
The Theory Behind It
In order to get a minor chord you will first need a major chord. To build a major chord you use what is called a major triad. A major triad formula is I – III – V. That just means it uses the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the key scale. In this case, we will use the key of G major.
- E (I)
- G# (III)
- B (V)
The E major scale looks like this:
To make a minor chord you build a minor triad. The minor triad uses the same scale with a slightly different formula. The minor triad formula is I – bIII – V or the 1st, flat 3rd, and 5th notes of the key scale.
The Em chord formula looks like:
- E (I)
- G (bIII)
- B (V)
If you want to make a major chord a major 7th you just add a VII note. An Emaj7 would look like:
- E (I)
- G# (III)
- B (V)
- D# (VII)
A minor 7th needs a bVII, or flat 7th, instead of a VII note. so a Em7 looks like:
- E (I)
- G (bIII)
- B (V)
- D (bVII)
To recap, all you need to build your own chords is the right formula and to know where the correct notes are located. Use this fretboard diagram to see if you can play Em7 anywhere else?
Complementary Chords
So, now that you know how to build and play an Em7 you will probably want to put it in a chord progression. But, how do you make your own chord progressions? The answer isn’t that difficult.
We know we are in the key of E, but since this chord is an Em will want to use a minor chord scale.
The E major key scale, obviously, starts at the root note (E) and follows the pattern of:
- whole note (E)
- whole note (F#)
- half note (G#)
- whole note (A)
- whole note (B)
- whole note (C#)
- half note (D#)
To turn a major scale into a minor scale you will use this pattern instead:
- whole note (E)
- half note (F#)
- whole note (G)
- whole note (A)
- half note (B)
- whole note (C)
- whole note (D)
To find what chords match up with this key you need to use a minor chord scale. The chord scale formula is similar to the minor scale but pay close attention to the Roman numerals. When you see a numeral written in upper case (like III, for example) that is a major chord, lower case denotes a minor chord, and the degree symbol (°) is an augmented chord.
The chords available in a E minor chord scale are:
- Em (i)
- F#dim (iidim)
- G (III)
- Am (iv)
- Bm (v)
- C (VI)
- D (VII)
To build your own progression you will pull chords from that chord bank. If you want a fun chord progression to get you started, we used the classic i7 – iv – VI – v – iv progression used in just about every genre of music (with an additional iv at the end).
The chords in the i7 – iv – VI – v – iv progression are Em7 – Am – C – Bm – Am. Here’s how you play it:
A Couple Em7 Chord Variations
Try out these versions of Em7 on the 4th fret. Just a couple movements of your fingers can give your chord a slightly different sound.
- index finger (1) on the B note on the G string at the 4th fret
- middle finger (2) on the D note on the A string at the 5th fret
- pinky finger (4) on the G note on the C string at the 7th fret
- play the E string open
- play the G string open
- index finger (1) on the E note on the C string at the 4th fret
- middle finger (2) on the D note on the A string at the 5th fret
- pinky finger (4) on the B note on the C string at the 7th fret
Final Word
You should now have a pretty solid understanding of all things Em7. You can play the chord anywhere you want and you can build all sorts of interesting progressions around it.
Let’s see what you can come up with!
