Em7 Chord on Ukulele
Em7 = E – G – B – D (Root, Minor 3rd, Perfect 5th, Minor 7th)
Em7 needs only two fingers, both on the outer strings: middle finger on the C string's second fret and ring finger on the A string's second fret, while the G and E strings both ring open. It's a genuinely easy shape, closer in spirit to Em's simpler cousin chords than to the wider four-fret stretch that plain E minor itself demands.
Adding the flatted seventh to E minor's triad rounds off its already melancholy color into something smokier and less sharply defined, trading a clear minor sadness for a hazier, more ambiguous mood. As the vi7 chord in the key of G major, Em7 offers a softer substitute for plain Em wherever a progression wants a gentler minor color, and it also stands as the ii7 chord in the key of D major, filling the same functional role Dm7 plays in the key of C. Because two of its four strings ring completely open, Em7 keeps more resonance than its parent Em triad, which — thanks to that four-fret stretch — has no open low string ringing beneath it at all.
Fingerings
Open Position
How to Practice It
With only two fingers required, both landing on the same fret but non-adjacent strings, the main task is simply accuracy: place the middle finger on the C string and the ring finger on the A string at the same moment rather than one after the other, keeping the open G and E strings clear of any accidental contact. Practicing the switch from plain Em into Em7 is a useful lesson in how a single added note changes a chord's color — lift the middle finger off the fourth-fret C string used in Em and replace it with this simpler two-finger shape to hear the shift directly. Em7 is also a good chord for practicing fingerpicked arpeggios, since its two open strings ring clearly against the two fretted ones.
Common Progressions
- vi7 – IV – I – V (Em7 – C – G – D)
- ii7 – V – I (Em7 – A7 – D, in the key of D)
- I – vi7 – IV – V (G – Em7 – C – D)
- A slow Em7-to-Am7 shift makes a smooth minor-key vamp.
FAQ
- Is Em7 easier than plain E minor on ukulele?
- Yes, noticeably — plain Em needs a stretch to the fourth fret on the C string, while Em7 only asks for two fingers at the second fret on non-adjacent strings, with no wide reach involved.
- What color does the added seventh give Em7?
- It softens the plain minor triad's clearer sadness into something smokier and more ambiguous, a subdued color common in slower, more reflective minor-key ukulele arrangements.
- Where does Em7 function as a ii chord?
- In the key of D major, where it plays the same ii-chord role Dm7 plays in the key of C, commonly leading into A7 (V7) on the way to a D resolution.
- Why does Em7 sound more open than plain Em?
- Two of its four strings, G and E, ring completely unfretted, giving it more raw resonance than plain Em's shape, which has no open low string ringing beneath its fourth-fret stretch.
- Is Em7 a good chord for beginners to learn before plain Em?
- Some teachers do introduce it first, precisely because it avoids the wide stretch plain Em requires, letting a beginner get comfortable with the minor seventh sound before tackling the harder open triad.
- Can Em7 be played as a fingerpicked arpeggio rather than strummed?
- Yes, and it suits that treatment well — with two strings ringing open against two fretted ones, a simple thumb-and-finger pattern lets all four notes of the chord speak individually rather than blending into a single strummed attack.
- Does Em7 share any notes with a chord built on a different root?
- Yes — G6 and Em7 draw from the same four pitches, an enharmonic overlap similar to the well-known relationship between C6 and Am7, so which name applies depends on which note the surrounding harmony treats as home.
- How does Em7 compare in difficulty to Dm7 or Am7?
- It's on the easier end of the ukulele's common minor sevenths, since it needs only two fingers with no barre at all, where Dm7 asks for a small barre plus an added reach and Am7, as it happens, needs no fingers at all.
Em7 on other instruments: Em7 on Guitar, Em7 on Piano. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.