Gm7 Guitar Chord: 6 Essential Ways To Play This Chord

Want to learn the Gm7 guitar chord? You’re in the right place!

In this free guitar lesson you will learn:

• 6 essential ways to play the Gm7 guitar chord.
• The no1 secret that will make your chords sound amazing.
• 2 epic songs that will get ANY crowd up and dancing.
• 3 practice tips that will accelerate your guitar progress.

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The most common ways to play the Gm7 guitar chord

The most common ways to play the Gm7 guitar chord are:

Gm7 (Em7 Barre Shape)

Gm7 (Am7 Barre Shape)

You’ll notice that both of these chords are barre chords.

Barre chords can be very tough on the fingers, so you should only attempt them if you’ve been playing guitar for a while.

If you want some help with barre chords you should check out this article: How To Play Barre Chords

In the guitar world, we refer to these barre chords as the ‘Em7 shape’ and the ‘Am7 shape’ because the heart of the barre chord uses these chord shapes.

To learn these chords, go here:

• Em7 Guitar Chord: An Essential Guide
• Am7 Guitar Chord: 6 Ways To Play This Chord

If you don’t feel quite ready for these chord voicings yet, you could learn some easier versions of the Gm7 guitar chord.

Gm7 Guitar Chord (Easy Em7 Shape)

The good thing about this voicing is that we only have to use one finger. We’re still barring, but we only have to barre across four strings rather than all six.

This voicing has a tight, snappy sound. It’s perfect for genres of music such as funk and soul.

If you want to expand your chord knowledge, you could also try this Gm7 guitar chord.

This is very much the same principle, except we’ve kept the lowest note in the chord and left out the highest.

This voicing doesn’t require us to barre anymore. With this chord voicing, you must mute the A string (5th string) with the fleshy part of your first finger.

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Gm7 Guitar Chord (Easy Am7 Shape)

With this chord voicing we’ve eliminated the barre. This makes it slightly easier on the fingers.

If you find this chord difficult, play a regular D shape and move it up to the 10th fret.

Once, you’ve done this. Adjust your fingering, and place your 1st finger on the 10th fret of the A string. (5th string.)

Like our previous voicing, this chord has a tight, snappy sound. It’s perfect for genres such as funk.

Gm7 Guitar Chord (Dm7 Shape)

We refer to this chord as the ‘Dm7 shape’ because it’s identical to the regular Dm7 shape. However, this time we’ve moved it up to the 5th fret.

To learn the Dm7 guitar chord, go here: Dm7 Guitar Chord: 7 Ways To Play This Chord

Although this shape has been moved up, we don’t need to barre it. This is because the only open string in Dm7 is the D string (4th string), so we just press that one down with the 1st finger.

Which of These Voicings Should I Use?

This really depends on the circumstances. You may find that some chord voicings are better for songs than others.

The best way to find out which chord is best, is to try all the options. You’ll find out quickly which chord is right for you.

You may also find some of these voicings easier than others. As a general rule, go for the chord which is the easiest and sounds best.

Ideally, you want to reach a stage where you can pick and choose between ALL of the Gm7 guitar chords that are available.

The Advantage With Barre Chords

Barre chords are tough to learn at first, there’s no denying it. But once you get the hang of them, they’re a huge asset to your guitar skills.

This is because, barre chords are movable shapes. This means that you can play 11 different minor 7 chords with just one chord shape.

For example:

• If you encounter a song with a G#m7 chord in it, all you have to do is move the Gm7 shape up by one fret.
• If you encounter a song with an F#m7 chord in it, all you have to do is move the Gm7 shape down by one fret.

This also works with non-barre chords, just so long as they don’t feature any open strings.

Why Does This Work?

This works because you are changing the root note of a chord. If you change the root note of a chord, you are changing the key of a chord.

To master this method, you must learn the root notes on the E string (6th string) and A string. (5th string.) Here they are:

E String Root Notes

A String Root Notes

What’s The Difference Between Gm7 and Gm?

Put simply, the difference is that Gm7 has an F note added to it.

Here are the notes in a regular Gm chord:

• G (Root)
• Bb (Minor 3rd)
• D (5th)

Here are the notes in a regular Gm7 chord:

• G (Root)
• Bb (Minor 3rd)
• D (5th)
• F (Flattened 7th)

Can you see how the Gm7 chord has an extra note? This gives the Gm chord an extra bit of colour. You can work out the rest of the notes in a chord by using the musical alphabet.

To learn more about the musical alphabet, go here: 

• The Musical Alphabet
• Guitar Notes Explained: A Guide For Beginners

If you compare a Gm chord to a Gm7 chord, you’ll probably find that the Gm7 chord sounds more sophisticated than the G minor chord.

Minor 7 chords are used frequently in styles of music like jazz, soul and funk.

To learn more about jazz guitar, go here: Jazz Guitar Lessons: A 5 Step Program For Rapid Progress

Bonus Tip

Here’s a quick and easy way to get the Gm7 guitar chord into your playing:

• Every time you see a regular G minor chord. Use a Gm7 instead.

This will add sophistication and musicality to your chord progressions.

Essential Practice Tips For The Gm7 Guitar Chord

One of the best ways to practice any new chord on the guitar is to try and learn a song that has that chord in it.

Here are a few songs which use the Gm7 guitar chord.

‘That’s Entertainment’ by The Jam

This track is fantastic, it’s vibrant and punchy. No wonder it was such a huge hit!

Here’s what it sounds like:

The chords for this song are:

Bb         | Gm7       | Bb           | Gm7        | Cm7        | Ab           |

This track’s a great one to play on an acoustic guitar.

To learn the rest of the chords to this song, go here:

• Bb Guitar Chord For Beginners
• Cm7 Guitar Chord: 5 Essential Ways To Play This Chord
• Ab Guitar Chord: 7 Essential Ways To Play This Chord

‘Tainted Love’ by Soft Cell

This song is an 80s classic. Not only is it super easy to play, it also sounds great.

Here’s what it sounds like:

Here are the chords for ‘Tainted Love’ by Soft Cell.

Gm7     Bb    | Eb    Cm7     |

If you’re not sure how to play the Eb chord, go here: E Flat Guitar Chord For Beginners

The chord changes in this tune are really quick, so make sure you practice this song slowly.

To learn this song in more detail, go here: Tainted Love Chords

You may have noticed that this song also uses other barre chords. This is why it’s important to learn as many barre chords as possible. They enhance your musicality and make your job as a guitarist easier.