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How to Play m7th Chords on Guitar

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By Matthew Warnock
eHow Contributing Writer
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Play m7th Chords on Guitar
Play m7th Chords on Guitar

M7th chords can be found in many blues, jazz, country folk and rock songs written for guitar. By learning to play m7th chords in the open position and as barred chords on the 6th, 5th and 4th strings, you will always be able to play a m7th chord in any key, anywhere on the guitar's neck.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Instructions
  1. Step 1

    Learn to play the open position m7th chords. While there are a number of left-hand fingerings that can be used a good rule of thumb is to use the index finger for notes on the first fret, the middle finger for the second and ring finger for notes on the third fret. Since the left-hand pinky finger is normally the weakest, only use it when absolutely necessary.

  2. Step 2

    Learn to play the m7th barre chords on the sixth string. When playing any of these chords always use the left-hand index finger to play the barre. When adding the other notes always use consecutive fingers in the left hand. For example, in the second chord play the barre along the third fret with the index finger. Then play the fifth fret on the fifth string with the ring finger and the sixth fret on the second string with the pinky finger. Do not use the middle and ring fingers for these notes as this would cause an unnecessary stretch in the left hand.

  3. Step 3

    Learn to play the m7th barre chords on the fifth string. Use a pick to strum any chord that has notes on consecutive strings, as in the first chord of the example. For chords that skip strings, as in the third chord of the example, pluck the lowest note with the pick and use the right-hand index, middle and ring fingers to play the remaining notes.

  4. Step 4

    Learn to play the m7th chords on the fourth string. Use a barre for the first chord in the example, but not the second. In the first chord play the fifth fret on the fourth string with the index finger, the seventh fret on the third string with the ring finger and barre the top two strings on the sixth fret with the middle finger.

  5. Step 5

    Play any of the barre chords in different keys across the neck. The lowest note of each chord indicates the root, or key, of that chord. For example, if we play a sixth string m7 barre chord on the fifth fret of the sixth string, that is an "A" m7 chord.

Tips & Warnings
  • Never practice "through the pain" when working on barre chords. If pain occurs in the hand, wrist or arm, take a break and stretch the sore muscle before returning to practice. Knowing the name of the notes on the sixth, fifth and fourth strings will make it much easier to move m7 chords to different keys across the neck.

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