What notes are in an Fm7 chord?

Fm7 contains four notes: F (root), A♭ (minor third), C (perfect fifth), and E♭ (minor seventh).

What jazz standards use Fm7?

"Misty" (in E♭ major), "Stella by Starlight" (which cadences in E♭ at multiple points), "There Will Never Be Another You," and most E♭-major bebop standards. The ii–V–I in E♭ runs Fm7 → B♭7 → E♭maj7 — universal in the repertoire.

How do you play Fm7 on guitar?

Most commonly a 1st-fret E-shape barre with the 4th-string finger lifted: index across all six strings on fret 1, ring finger on the 3rd fret of the 5th string, partial open positions on strings 4-3-2-1.

How is Fm7 different from Fmaj7?

Two notes change. Fmaj7 has A natural (major 3rd) and E natural (major 7th); Fm7 has A♭ (minor 3rd) and E♭ (minor 7th). Different chord quality, different harmonic function.

F minor 7 chord — notes, intervals, and practice

F minor 7 (Fm7) — F, A♭, C, E♭ — is F minor with a minor 7th on top. The chord is the iim7 of E♭ major (Fm7 → B♭7 → E♭maj7) — the cadence in every E♭-major jazz standard from "Stella by Starlight" to "Misty." Fm7 is also a primary chord in flat-key R&B and soul.

Intervals

The F minor 7 chord stacks two thirds on the root. Each interval and its size in semitones:

F→Abminor 3rd3 semitones
Ab→Cmajor 3rd4 semitones
C→Ebminor 3rd3 semitones

On the keyboard

Each note of the F minor 7 chord highlighted on a piano. Pitch class is what matters — any octave works.

On the guitar

One voicing of the F minor 7 chord on a six-string guitar fretboard.

1F
♭3Ab
5C
♭7Eb

Common mistakes

Fm7 has A♭ as its third and E♭ as its 7th — two flats on a natural root. The most common error is reading A♭ as A natural, which would make Fmaj7 (a completely different chord). On guitar, Fm7 is most often a 1st-fret E-shape barre — though many guitarists prefer the partial voicing on the upper strings to avoid the full barre.

In context

Fm7 is the iim7 of E♭ major (Fm7 → B♭7 → E♭maj7), the vim7 of A♭ major, and the im7 of F minor in modal jazz. Beethoven's "Appassionata" Sonata uses Fm-related harmony constantly; in jazz, "Misty," "Stella by Starlight," and most E♭-major standards cadence through Fm7.

Drill it

The F minor 7 chord is one of 48 in the Chord Trainer. Open the full trainer to practice it alongside related chords with timing and best-time tracking.

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Frequently asked

What notes are in an Fm7 chord?: Fm7 contains four notes: F (root), A♭ (minor third), C (perfect fifth), and E♭ (minor seventh).
What jazz standards use Fm7?: "Misty" (in E♭ major), "Stella by Starlight" (which cadences in E♭ at multiple points), "There Will Never Be Another You," and most E♭-major bebop standards. The ii–V–I in E♭ runs Fm7 → B♭7 → E♭maj7 — universal in the repertoire.
How do you play Fm7 on guitar?: Most commonly a 1st-fret E-shape barre with the 4th-string finger lifted: index across all six strings on fret 1, ring finger on the 3rd fret of the 5th string, partial open positions on strings 4-3-2-1.
How is Fm7 different from Fmaj7?: Two notes change. Fmaj7 has A natural (major 3rd) and E natural (major 7th); Fm7 has A♭ (minor 3rd) and E♭ (minor 7th). Different chord quality, different harmonic function.