Minor 7th chord · F# root
F#m7 chord
- F#1
- A♭3
- C#5
- E♭7
The F# minor 7th chord (also called the Gbm7 chord — same notes, different spelling) is built from the notes F#, A, C#, E. A minor 7th shape you will meet in barre-chord territory.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the F#m7 chord?
The F#m7 chord (F# minor 7th) is a minor 7th chord built from four notes: F#, A, C#, E — the 1–♭3–5–♭7 of the F# scale, 3 semitones and 7 semitones and 10 semitones above the root. On guitar it is most often played as a movable shape from fret 2 (2-4-2-2-2-2); shift all fretted notes together to transpose it along the neck. It is rated intermediate. The smooth workhorse of funk, R&B and lo-fi. Below you will find step-by-step fingering, 3 positions up the neck, audio of every shape, and the real progressions this chord lives inside.
How do you play the F#m7 chord on guitar?
Fret 2 barre — a movable shape, so this same fingering works for every root note.
- Lay your index finger flat across the low E to high E strings at fret 2, rolled slightly onto its bony edge.
- Press the A string at fret 4 with your ring finger.
- Strum all six strings and let every one ring.
Leave out the lowest fretted note (low E string) and practise the remaining strings. The bass changes, and the upper strings may still need a smaller barre; check that the third and other colour tones stay clear. x-4-2-2-2-2
How do you make F#m7 sound clean?
F#m7 is one 2nd-fret barre plus the ring finger on the fifth string at the 4th. Every other note in the chord is the barre, so the index edge alone carries the root on the high E — a millimetre off and it goes quiet.
F#m7 → B7 → Emaj7: the ii–V–I of E major, and the F#m7 barre is the hardest of the three. Get it once and hold the hand alive through the whole loop.
In real songs
F#m7 in songs
None of the 90 songs charted on this site use F#m7 yet — it is a colour chord rather than a songwriting staple.
What other ways can you play F#m7 up the neck?
2 more positions below. A chord is a set of notes, not a shape — every position below sounds like F#m7, and each one puts your hand somewhere different, which is what makes them useful in different songs.
Position 2 · Fret 4 barre
No open strings, so this is a movable shape: slide it up or down and the same fingering gives you a different chord name.
One bar does most of the work. Roll that finger onto its bony edge and pull the elbow slightly in — a barre that buzzes is almost always a position problem, not a strength problem.
Position 3 · Fret 9 barre
Because nothing rings open, you can move this whole shape to any fret and it keeps the same quality — only the letter name changes.
A single bar covers the rest of the strings here. If the inside strings stay dead, move the bar a millimetre closer to the fret wire before you try pressing harder.
The theory behind F#m7
F#m7 is spelled F# – A – C# – E — the 1 – ♭3 – 5 – ♭7 of the F# scale, which is the root plus 3 semitones, 7 semitones, 10 semitones. The smooth workhorse of funk, R&B and lo-fi.
The flat seventh softens the minor third, which is why m7 chords sit comfortably under a vocal. In practice you will use F#m7 far more often than the plain minor triad in anything funky or jazzy.
F#m7 on other instruments
F# – A – C# – E — the highlighted black keys are the sharps or flats; play each note once, then move them into one hand position.
Take it to the practice room
