Em7 piano chord — the keys, the inversions, the theory

Em7 is a minor seventh chord built from E, G, B, D. Below: the keys to press, every inversion with its own diagram, the intervals it is made of, the keys whose scale contains it, and a progression that actually uses it. Press any diagram to hear it.

Em7

E · G · B · D

Piano keyboardC4C5

Semitones above the root: 0 – 3 – 7 – 10

The third is minor — one semitone lower than in a major chord — which is where the darker colour comes from.

Inversions of Em7

  • Root position

    E · G · B · D · bass E

  • Inversion 1

    G · B · D · E · bass G

  • Inversion 2

    B · D · E · G · bass B

  • Inversion 3

    D · E · G · B · bass D

Same chord, different note at the bottom. Press a diagram to hear it — inversions are how you move between chords without jumping your hand across the keyboard.

Keys that contain Em7

  • Ciii
  • Gvi
  • Dii

In G it does this job: I – V – vi – IV

  1. G
  2. D
  3. Em7
  4. C

Questions