Am7

A Minor 7th — the workhorse of smooth harmony — soft, rounded, and at home on the ii chord of nearly everything.

The keys
C4C5C6
A – C – E – G
What's inside Am7
NoteInterval from rootDegree
ARoot1
CMinor 3rdb3
EPerfect 5th5
GMinor 7thb7
Inversions
PositionKeys (low → high)
Root positionA4 – C5 – E5 – G5
1st inversionC5 – E5 – G5 – A5
2nd inversionE5 – G5 – A5 – C6
3rd inversionG5 – A5 – C6 – E6
A working voicing

Split the chord between two hands the way working players do — a solid shell low down, the colour tones up top:

HandKeys
Left (shell)A2 – G3
Right (colour)C5 – E5
Where Am7 lives

As the ii chord

Am7 → D7 → Gmaj7

Minor-family sevenths live on the ii — this is the move they were born for.

Stepwise colour

A → Am7 → Bm7

Used as a passing colour between neighbouring chords.

Put Am7 under your fingers

Hear every voicing, see the keys light up, and drill it in the interactive Chord & Voicing Lab.

Open the Chord & Voicing Lab →
Minor 7th in every key
Cm7 C♯m7 Dm7 E♭m7 Em7 Fm7 F♯m7 Gm7 A♭m7 B♭m7 Bm7