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If you want to play hip minor chords on piano, minor 7th chords are the perfect harmonic pallet to explore. These intermediate level, 4-note chords are commonly used in jazz, Latin, R&B, neo soul and other contemporary keyboard styles. In today’s Quick Tip, Minor 7th Chords on Piano – The Complete Guide, John Proulx shares how to construct, apply and improvise with minor 7th chords on piano. You’ll learn:

• Intro to Minor 7th Chords
  • What are minor 7th chords?
• Comparing Minor Triads & Minor 7th Chords
• Piano Chord Chart of All Minor 7th Chords
• Beyond the Basics with Minor 7th Chords
  • Minor 7th Inversions
  • Exploring Minor 7th Shapes & Slash Chords
• Improvising Over Minor 7th Chords

This lesson is perfect for piano students who can already comfortably play major and minor triads and want to explore richer minor sounds.

Intro to Minor 7th Chords

If you play piano or keyboard in any type of contemporary band or ensemble, then minor 7th chords are definitely a chord quality that you’ll want to know about. These chords are also important to have in your tool box if you’re a singer-songwriter who is interested writing songs with a mellow and soulful vibe.

In this lesson, we’ll first help you understand exactly how to construct minor 7th chords. Afterward, we’ll cover minor 7th inversions. Then, we’ll examine common approaches for playing minor 7th chords with two hands and also how to layer minor 7th shapes over different roots to produce more advanced harmonies. Finally, we’ll cover various techniques that you can use to improvise on minor 7th chords.

If you’re a PWJ member, then the downloadable lesson sheet PDF and backing tracks for this lesson are included with your membership.  These resources appear at the bottom of this page after you log in with your membership. In addition, members can also easily transpose this lesson to any key using our Smart Sheet Music.

What are minor 7th chords?

Comparing Minor Triads & Minor 7th Chords

Minor 7th chords have a harmonic sound that is similar to minor triads, but they are not quite as dark. Instead, minor 7th chords contain an interesting spectrum of warm and cool colors that make them unique and versatile.

In this section, we’ll compare the sound of minor triads and minor 7th chords over a basic chord progression in C minor. First, let’s play a Ⅰm→Ⅴm→Ⅳm progression with 3-note minor triads.

Basic Progression with Minor Triads

Now, let’s convert each of the minor triads in the example above into a minor 7th chord instead. To do so, we just need to add one note to each chord. Technically speaking, the note that we need to add is a minor 7th interval above the root. However, if you’re a beginner, then an easy shortcut for finding the minor 7th is to simply go down a whole step from the root. For example, to convert Cm to Cm7, go down a whole step from C…which is the note B♭. Then, add this note to the chord above the root.

Now let’s play our basic progression in C minor as Ⅰm7→Ⅴm7→Ⅳm7.

Basic Progression with Minor 7th Chords

The chord progression above uses three different minor 7th chords: Cm7, Gm7 and Fm7. In the next section, we’ll cover how to play all twelve minor 7th chords on piano.

Piano Chord Chart of All Minor 7th Chords

For your reference, here is a complete Piano Chord Chart of All Minor 7th Chords. You’ll see the chord symbol followed by the specific notes on the piano for each minor 7th chord.

In the next section, you’ll explore various ways to play minor 7th chords on piano, including chords inversions and other applications.

Beyond the Basics with Minor 7th Chords

Now that we’ve covered the basics about minor 7th chords, let’s explore some ways in which pianists use these chords. Keep in mind, pianists can play minor 7th chords entirely with one hand or they can distribute the notes across both hands. Moreover, they can rearrange the order of the notes, which we call inversions. We’ll cover all these topics and more in this section.

Minor 7th Inversions

So far, all of the examples of minor 7th chords that we’ve examined have been presented in root position. This means that the root of the chord has been on the bottom with the 3rd, 5th and 7th stacked above it in thirds. However, 7th chords can also be played in three different inversions. For example, if you move the note C to the top of a Cm7 chord, then the note E♭ is left on bottom…we call this 1st inversion. Next, if you move the E♭ to the top of the chord, then the note G is left on bottom, which we call 2nd inversion. Finally, if we move the G to the top the chord, then the note B♭ is left on bottom, which we call 3rd inversion.

Blocked Minor 7th Inversions

The example above shows a Cm7 chord on piano in root position followed by its three inversions. Note, the chord symbols in this example are indicated with slash chord notation. This labeling designation presents the identity of the chord first (i.e.: Cm7). After the slash, the chord symbol then indicates which note is in the bottom-most position. For instance, Cm7/E♭ specifies a Cm7 chord with an E♭ on bottom. Thus, the chord symbol Cm7/E♭ specifically denotes a Cm7 chord in 1st inversion.

Next, let’s play Cm7 and its three inversions as broken chords. This simply means that we’ll play the notes one-at-a-time rather than simultaneously. Another way to describe this approach is to say that we’re playing the chord “melodically.” Being able to play minor 7th chords melodically in all inversions is an important skill for improvisation.

Broken Minor 7th Inversions

Exploring Minor 7th Shapes & Slash Chords

Sometimes, beginners have experience playing minor 7th chords on piano without even realizing it. That’s because composers and arrangers often divide the notes of seventh chords between the two hands. One of the most common approaches for distributing the notes is to place the root of the chord in the left hand while voicing the remaining three notes in the right hand. This arranging technique is sometimes described as the “part over root” or “triad over root” approach.

Part Over Root

The following example demonstrates how to play minor 7th chords on piano using the part over root approach. This voicing approach is especially common in pop and R&B keyboard styles. When voicing chords in this manner, it’s important to notice that the upper three notes of a minor 7th chord actually form a major triad. For instance, in the first measure, the two-handed Cm7 voicing looks like an E♭ major triad with a C in the bass voice. The advantage of this approach is that it allows a pianist to play the root of the chord in a deeper register of the instrument.

As a pianist, it may help to think of the first chord in the example below as E♭/C. In fact, the upper structure triad portion of the chord can be played in any inversion. However, the chord symbol will almost always be expressed as Cm7. The subsequent measures demonstrate how to play additional minor 7th chords in the same manner while moving counter-clockwise around the circle of 5ths.

Minor 7ths as Major Triad Over Root

Can you complete the example above by playing all twelve minor 7th chords using the part over root approach around the entire circle of 5ths? If necessary, use the following illustration to help you.

Minor 7th Upper Structures

Another manner in which professional pianists frequently use minor 7th shapes is to employ all four notes of an ordinary minor 7th chord as an upper structure. Notice that in this context, we describe the four notes as a “minor 7th shape” or a “minor 7th structure” rather than a “minor 7th chord.” That’s because, in this advanced approach, the actual harmonic sound is not a minor 7th chord at all.

To get a better understanding what we mean by when we say “minor 7th shape,” let’s consider measure 3 in the following example. Here, we see the chord symbol A♭▵9, which is clearly not a minor 7th chord. Nonetheless, this chord is voiced in such a manner that the right-hand shape is equivalent to the notes of Cm7. However, because the left hand plays the note A♭, the composite sound is A♭▵9. We can use polychordal nomenclature to think of this chord as Cm7/A♭. Another way to say this is that the right hand is using Cm7 as an upper structure for A♭▵9. In fact, if we look at all 5 measures of this example, we discover that the same right-hand Cm7 shape can be used for five completely different chord qualities!

Minor 7th Shapes as Upper Structures

The example above also illustrates a concept that is somewhat paradoxical in music theory. Did you notice that Cm7 and E♭6 contain the same four notes? To muddy the waters even further, this means that a 1st inversion Cm7 chord (i.e.: Cm7/E♭) is identical to a root position E♭6 chord. Keep in mind, these chords proceed from the same parent scale, which is E♭ major (E♭–F–G–A♭–B♭–C–D). Moreover, these chords possess a unique relationship as the respective relative major and minor for one another (i.e.: the keys of E♭ major and C minor). In fact, the only way to truly distinguish these chords from one another is to examine the context in which they occur.

The main point in drawing this to your attention is not to cause confusion, but rather to prevent confusion. Sooner or later, every jazz piano student eventually comes to the realization that Cm7 and E♭6 contain the exact same notes. However, before students become aware of this fact, they are more likely to become confused when analyzing tunes or interpreting and applying chord voicings.

Improvising Over Minor 7th Chords

Alright, now we’ve come to the application part of today’s lesson. In this section, you’ll discover 3 techniques that you can use to improvise over minor seventh chords on piano. However, first let’s establish a harmonic context. All of the improv examples in this section are in the key of C minor and use the following funk progression: Cm7→Gm7→F♯m7→Fm7. Let’s take a listen:

Funk Chord Progression

In the following examples, we’ll voicing these chords in the left hand using 2-note shell voicings that are comprised of the root + 7th of each chord.

Technique #1: Minor 7th Arpeggios

The simplest and most straightforward approach for improvising over minor 7th chords is to use arpeggios (aka: broken chords). This is an especially useful and foundational approach for students with less improvisation experience. The following example demonstrates a sample improv line that makes exclusive use of ascending and descending minor 7th arpeggios over each chord. Note, the 16th notes in this section are played with a slight swing feel which is common in funk music.

Sample Improv with Minor 7th Arpeggios

Keep in mind, when improvising with minor 7th arpeggios, you are not limited to playing all four notes in strict ascending or descending order. The example above simply illustrates a starting point. Other options include using minor 7th inversions and minor 7th fragments.

Technique #2: Minor Pentatonic Scales

Another technique for improvising over minor 7th chords is to use the minor pentatonic scale that corresponds to the root of each chord. In other words, we can use the notes of the C minor pentatonic scale (C–E♭–F–G–B♭) to improvise over Cm7. Just in case this is a new concept, the easiest way to build a minor pentatonic scale is to start with a major scale and apply the following formula: 1–♭3–4–5–♭7. You may notice that this approach is similar to technique #1, except that it adds one additional note.

Here are the four minor pentatonic scales that correspond to our funk progression in C minor:

Next, let’s check out a sample improv phrase that uses minor pentatonic scales.

Sample Improv with Pentatonic Scales

Technique #3: Upper Structure Polychords

A third technique for improvising over minor 7th chords involves using upper structure triads. Earlier in this lesson, we discussed the part over root voicing technique. Well, we can apply the same concept melodically when improvising. To do so, we simply improvise over each minor 7th chord using a major triad built on the 3rd of the chord. For example, we can use an E♭ major triad over Cm7, a B♭ major triad over Gm7, an A major triad over F♯m7 and an A♭ major triad over Fm7.

Since this approach involves thinking about a different chord in the right hand, it is often described as a polychordal approach. While you can use this approach any time you want, it is especially helpful for instances in which the chord changes occur more rapidly. That’s because this technique helps you quickly zero in on three note choices that work great.

Let’s check out a sample improv phrase that uses this polychordal approach:

Sample Improv with Upper Structures

Conclusion

Congratulations, you’ve completed today’s Quick Tip on Minor 7th Chords on Piano – The Complete Guide. Hopefully, the examples in today’s lesson have expanded your understanding of minor 7th chords and how to use them.

If you enjoyed today’s lesson, then be sure to check out the following PWJ resources:

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