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The Fm7 chord (F minor seventh) on guitar

Fm7 is F minor with Eb added on top. It is softer than the plain minor chord and turns up wherever music gets smooth: soul, jazz, bossa, funk, pop ballads. Good news for your hand: on the neck it is often easier than Fm, because the barre does more of the work and you need fewer fingers.

Fm7 chord: notes and shapes at a glance

  • Name: F minor seventh
  • Symbol: Fm7
  • Notes: F, Ab, C, Eb
  • Where it belongs: iii7 in Db major, ii7 in Eb major, vi7 in Ab major, ivm7 in C minor, im7 in F minor

Each shape below is written from the thickest string to the thinnest: a number is the fret, 0 an open string, x a string you do not play. New to this? See how to read chord diagrams.

Shape Frets, low E to high E Notes, low to high What it is for
Fm7, four strings xx1111 Eb Ab C F One finger, four notes, the whole chord. Eb is in the bass, so it sounds light; good for a quick start.
Fm7, compact 1x111x F Eb Ab C Thumb on F, fifth and first strings muted. Four notes, one each: the voicing that sits best in a groove.
Fm7, barre 131111 F C Eb Ab C F The Em7 shape moved up one fret. A full barre with only one other finger.
Fm7, eighth fret x 8 10 8 9 8 F C Eb Ab C The Am7 shape barred at fret 8: third finger on the fourth string at fret 10, second finger on the B string at fret 9.
Fm7, four strings x x 1 1 1 1 · · 1 1 1 1 fingers
Fm7, compact 1 x 1 1 1 x T · 1 1 1 · fingers
Fm7, barre 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 fingers
Fm7, eighth fret x 8 10 8 9 8

Read each diagram from the thickest string on the left to the thinnest on the right. A cross means the string is not played, a circle means it rings open.

Fm7 on the neck: every F, Ab, C, Eb

Standard tuning, frets 0 to 12. The highlighted notes are the notes of Fm7: any shape you build from them, anywhere on the neck, is still Fm7.

Fretboard notes
Swipe the fretboard sideways to see every fret.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 - E
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
2 - B
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
3 - G
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
4 - D
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
5 - A
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
6 - E
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E

Fm7, F7, Fmaj7, Fm: which one is on your chart?

These names look alike and get mixed up all the time. The lowercase m means minor; the 7 alone means a minor seventh; maj7 means a major seventh.

Chord Notes Barre at fret 1 Sound
Fm F, Ab, C 133111 Dark
Fm7 F, Ab, C, Eb 131111 Dark, smooth
F7 F, A, C, Eb 131211 Tense, bluesy
Fmaj7 F, A, C, E xx3210 Bright, soft

From Fm to Fm7, lift the fourth finger off the fourth string: the barre underneath sounds Eb. From Fm7 to F7, add the second finger on the third string at fret 2: Ab becomes A.

The shapes, finger by finger

Four strings: xx1111

First finger flat across the fourth, third, second and first strings at fret 1: Eb, Ab, C, F. Strum from the fourth string. It is a barre over four strings only, a good first barre to learn.

Compact: 1x111x

Thumb over the neck on the low E at fret 1 (F), the first finger across the fourth, third and second strings at fret 1. The thumb mutes the fifth string; the underside of the first finger keeps the high E quiet. Four notes, no doubling: in a band it often sounds better than the full barre.

Full barre: 131111

This is Em7 (020000) moved up one fret with the first finger as the nut. Only the third finger is added, on the fifth string at fret 3. Check two strings: Eb on the fourth and Ab on the third, both held by the barre alone.

Press the barre just behind the fret, and roll the first finger slightly onto its side. The barre chords page walks through it.

Where Fm7 works: the ii V I in Eb

Fm7 is the ii chord of Eb major, so its most common move is Fm7, Bb7, Ebmaj7. The second row keeps the hand between frets 6 and 10.

Where Fm7 Bb7 Ebmaj7
Around frets 1 to 3 131111 x13131 xx1333
Around fret 6 to 10 x 8 10 8 9 8 6x676x x68786

Another use is a borrowed color in C major: F, Fm7, C. The A in F slides down to Ab in Fm7, and that half step is the whole effect. Try 133211, 1x111x, x32010 and listen. More patterns on the chord progressions page.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play Fm7 on guitar?
The full version is 131111: first finger barred across fret 1, third finger on the fifth string at fret 3. Everything else rings under the barre. For a lighter sound, play 1x111x with the thumb on the low E.
What notes are in Fm7?
F, Ab, C and Eb: an F minor chord with a minor seventh, Eb, on top.
What is the difference between Fm7 and F7?
The third. Fm7 has Ab, F7 has A. On the barre, that is one finger: F7 adds the second finger on the third string at fret 2 (131211), Fm7 leaves that string under the barre at fret 1 (131111).
Is there an easy Fm7 without a barre?
xx1111 is as close as it gets: the first finger flat across the top four strings at fret 1. It is a small barre, but it holds all four notes and is the easiest Fm7 to hold.
Is F#m7 the same shape?
Yes, one fret higher: 242222 instead of 131111. Every shape on this page moves the same way.
Yohann Abbou, guitar teacher and founder of Guitar Social Club

Who made this

Guitar Social Club is the work of Yohann Abbou, a guitar teacher in Paris who teaches adults. Every shape on this page is written string by string and checked against standard tuning, and the diagrams are drawn from those same fret numbers. The rest of our free guitar tools, including the chord finder, work the same way.

More about Yohann on his page, and about why Guitar Social Club exists.