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E♭m7 Chord on Guitar

E♭m7 E♭ G♭ B♭ D♭ 2 shapes Barre chord

Also written D♯m7: the same frets under another name.

Chord diagrams

How to play E♭m7 on guitar

The E♭m7 chord (E♭m7) is made of E♭, G♭, B♭, D♭ - 1 b3 5 b7. On a guitar in standard tuning the easiest way to play it is the A-shape barre at fret 6 (x68676). Below are 2 shapes in all, from the lowest on the neck to the highest; the same chord sounds brighter the higher you play it.

A-shape barre, fret 6 x68676

E♭m7 chord on guitar, a-shape barre, fret 6: x686766fr13121E♭B♭D♭G♭B♭

Fingers x 1 3 1 2 1Notes E♭ B♭ D♭ G♭ B♭

E-shape barre, fret 11 (11)(13)(11)(11)(11)(11)

E♭m7 chord on guitar, e-shape barre, fret 11: (11)(13)(11)(11)(11)(11)11fr131111E♭B♭D♭G♭B♭E♭

Fingers 1 3 1 1 1 1Notes E♭ B♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭

Strings from the low E (left) to the high E (right). Numbers are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little. x = do not play the string, o = open string, a bar = one finger across several strings.

Notes

What notes are in E♭m7?

The E♭m7 chord has 4 different notes: E♭, G♭, B♭, D♭. The minor triad plus a minor seventh (10 half steps above E♭). A guitar chord rarely has as many strings as notes, so shapes double some of them: the e-shape barre, fret 11 sounds all six strings.

NoteInterval from the rootHalf steps
E♭Root0
G♭Minor 3rd3
B♭Perfect 5th7
D♭Minor 7th10
Chords that go with it

Chords in the key of D♯ minor

The seven chords built on the D♯ minor scale, with the easiest shape of each. i, iv and v are the backbone; VI, III and VII are the major chords borrowed from the relative major.

iD♯mx68876
ii°Fdim1231xx
IIIF♯244322
ivG♯m466444
vA♯mx13321
VIBx24442
VIIC♯x46664

A progression to strum

  • i - VI - III - VIID♯m - B - F♯ - C♯
Questions

Frequently asked

How do you play E♭m7 on guitar?

The A-shape shape x68676: A string fret 6 (finger 1), D string fret 8 (finger 3), G string fret 6 (finger 1), B string fret 7 (finger 2), high E string fret 6 (finger 1); do not play low E. Your index finger lies flat across fret 6.

What notes are in the E♭m7 chord?

The E♭m7 chord (E♭m7) is made of E♭, G♭, B♭, D♭. Its formula is 1 b3 5 b7. On the guitar, some of those notes are played twice on different strings.

Can I play E♭m7 without a barre?

There is no common open shape for E♭m7 in standard tuning, so it is played as a movable shape: a-shape barre, fret 6 (x68676) is the lowest on the neck. If a full barre is hard at first, play only the four highest strings of that shape - the root and the third are still there.

Is E♭m7 the same as D♯m7?

On the guitar, yes: the same frets. The name changes with the key - sharps in sharp keys, flats in flat keys.

Keep playing

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