Am7 Guitar Chord: 6 Ways To Play This Chord

Want to learn how to play the Am7 guitar chord? Then look no further, we’re going to show you 6 of the most common ways to play an Am7 guitar chord. 

 

In this free guitar lesson you will learn:

  • 6 quick & easy ways to play the Am7 guitar chord.
  • The no1 secret to mastering guitar chords quickly.
  • 3 essential guitar hacks which will make your chords sound amazing.
  • 2 powerful tricks that are guaranteed to boost your progress.
  • 3 super-easy songs which use the Am7 guitar chord.

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The two most common ways to play an Am7 guitar chord are:

  • An open Am7 guitar chord.
  • Am7 guitar chord. (Em barre shape.)

Let’s learn them!

Open Am7 Guitar Chord

Am7 Guitar Chord

(If you don't understand the above image please read our article "How To Read Guitar Chordboxes In 60 Seconds". It will make everything clear!)

Not only is this one of the most common ways to play an Am7 guitar chord. It’s also one of the easiest!

To play this chord:

  • Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the D string. (4th string.)
  • Place your 1st finger on the 1st fret of the B string. (2nd string.)
  • Strum from the A string. (5th string.)

Find this chord too difficult? Go here: Am Guitar Chord For Beginners

Am7 Guitar Chord (Em7 Barre Shape)

We refer to this Am7 guitar chord as the ‘Em7 barre shape’, because the heart of this chord uses the shape of an open Em7 chord.

Here’s an Em7 guitar chord.

Em Guitar Chord

To learn this chord go here:Em Guitar Chord – 4 Easy Ways To Play This Essential Chord

Here’s an Am7 guitar chord. (Em7 Barre Shape.)

Am7 Guitar Chord

Learn to read this chord box here: How To Read Guitar Chords: An Essential Guide 

Can you see how this chord uses the shape of an Em7? The only difference is that you are now barring across the 5th fret with your first finger.

Barring can be tricky for beginner guitarists, if you don’t know how to barre chords, watch this video:

What is an Am7 Guitar Chord?

An A minor 7 chord is a more sophisticated version of a regular A minor guitar chord.

A regular Am guitar chord uses the following notes:

  • Root – A.
  • Minor 3rd – C.
  • Perfect Fifth – E.

Where as an Am7 guitar chord has an extra note. The notes in a Am7 guitar chord are:

  • Root – A.
  • Minor 3rd – C.
  • Perfect Fifth – E.
  • Flattened 7th – G.

It’s the G note in this chord which gives the Am7 chord it’s flavour.

To learn more about guitar notes, go here:Guitar Notes Explained: A Guide For Beginners

Bonus Tip!

Minor 7 chords can be written in a bunch of different ways. Here are a few examples:

  • Am7. (The small ‘m’ stands for ‘minor’.)
  • A minor 7.
  • A – 7. (In this case the ‘-‘ stands for ‘minor’. Think of it like this, the minus sign = ‘minor’.)
  • Am7 guitar chord.

All of these are perfectly valid ways to write out a minor 7 chord. However, in today’s lesson we’re going to refer to the Am7 chord as the ‘Am7 guitar chord’.

Let’s learn some more voicings of the Am7 guitar chord.


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Am7 Guitar Chord (Am7 Barre Shape)

This guitar chord is the exact same as the open Am7, however this time we have shifted this guitar chord up 12 frets.

This concept is known as the ‘CAGED system’. To learn about this, go here: CAGED Guitar System: How To Master Chords

Am7 Guitar Chord

To play this chord:

  • Barre your first finger from the 12th fret of the A string (5th string) to the high E string. (1st string.)
  • Place your 3rd finger on the 14th fret of the D string. (4th string.)
  • Place your 2nd finger on the 13th fret of the B string. (2nd string.)
  • Strum from the A string. (5th string.)

Barre chords can be tricky when they’re this high up the fret board. If you find this chord hard, don’t barre over on the 12th fret. This chord will still work without the barre.

Am7 Guitar Chord (Gm7 Barre Shape)

We refer to this chord as the ‘Gm7 barre shape’ because it is based on a ‘Gm7 chord’.

Here’s a Gm7 chord:

Gm7 Chord

Is this chord too hard? Check out some easier versions here: G Minor Guitar Chord For Beginners

Here’s an Am7. (Gm7 barre shape.):

Am7_(Gm7_Shape)

Can you see how the EXACT same shape has been moved up two frets?

To play this chord:

  • Place your 1st finger on the 5th fret of the low E string. (6th string.)
  • Place your 2nd finger on the 5th fret of the D string. (4th string.)
  • Place your 3rd finger on the 5th fret of the G string. (3rd string.)
  • Place your 4th finger on the 5th fret of the B string. (2nd string.)

Pro Guitar Tip!

If you want to sound like a pro guitarist:

  • Use a minor 7 chord instead of a regular minor chord.

This works fantastically and WILL make you sound amazing.

Try this as a challenge:

  • Every time you see a Am guitar chord. Use an Am7 instead.

The best way to integrate a new chord into your playing is to use it as much as you can.

Am7 Guitar Chord (Cm7 Shape)

We refer to this Am7 guitar chord as the ‘Cm7 shape’ because it uses the EXACT same shape as a ‘Cm7 chord’.

Here’s a Cm7 chord:

Cm7

Here’s an Am7 guitar chord. (Cm7 Shape.):

Am7 Guitar Chord

Notice how both chord shapes are exactly the same shape. However, the Am7 has now been moved to the 12th fret.

To play this chord:

  • Place your 2nd finger on the 12th fret of the A string. (5th string.)
  • Place your 1st finger on the 10th fret of the D string. (4th string.)
  • Place your 3rd finger on the 12th fret of the G string. (3rd string.)
  • Place your 4th finger on the 13th fret of the B string. (2nd string.)
  • Strum from the A string. (5th string.)

How Do I Play Guitar Chords?

Here are 3 quick & easy tips which will help you master guitar chords:

  • Place your thumb in the middle of the neck. (Your thumb nail should be pointing up, towards the ceiling.)

Your thumb should look like this:

thumb placement

  • Use the tips of your fingers.

When you fret guitar chords, use your finger tips. Try and get the string as close to your finger nail as possible. (Make sure it doesn’t hurt!)

  • Make sure your fingers are straight when you fret guitar chords.

Try and keep your fingers as straight as possible, here’s what the perfect guitar chord looks like:

How to read a guitar chordbox

Notice how the fingers arch over the neck, and that there’s plenty of space between your hand and the fret board.

Learn more about how to play guitar chords here: How To Play Guitar Chords: A Beginner’s Guide

Am7 Guitar Chord (Dm7 Shape)

In the guitar world, we refer to this as the ‘Dm7 shape’ because this Am7 chord is based on the shape of an open Dm7.

Here’s a Dm7:

Dm7

To learn this chord, go here:3 Easy Ways To Play The Dm Guitar Chord On Guitar

Here’s a Am7 Guitar Chord (Dm7 Shape)

Am7 Guitar Chord

The only difference here is that you have to adapt your fingering. However, the core chord shape is exactly the same.

To play this chord:

  • Place your first finger on the 7th fret of the D string. (4th string.)
  • Place your 2nd finger on the 8th fret of the B string. (2nd string.)
  • Place your 3rd finger on the 8th fret of the high E string. (1st string.)
  • Place your 4th finger on the 9th fret of the G string. (3rd string.)

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How do I Practice The Am7 Guitar Chord?

Now we’ve learned how to play the Am7 guitar chord, let’s take a look at how we can practice it. We’re going to show you 4 essential practice tips that will take your playing to the next level.

1) Squeeze Your Fretting Hand Whenever You Learn A New Chord

Whenever you learn a new guitar chord, squeeze your fretting hand. This engages your muscle memory and teaches your hand to remember the chord.

However, it’s vital that the chord is correct BEFORE you squeeze your hand. If the chord is incorrect, you will be teaching yourself to remember the wrong chord.

Here are a couple of things you can do to make sure that the chord is correct:

  • Are your fingers in the correct place? Make sure you’re fretting all of the right notes.
  • Does the chord sound good? Make sure that each note of the chord rings out clearly.
  • Does the chord feel good? It’s important that you don’t feel ANY pain when you play guitar chords.

Guitar Chords

2) Play The Chord Without Looking At Your Fretting Hand

The best way to practice a new guitar chord is to, try and play it without looking at your fretting hand.

This is a true test of how well you know the guitar chord.

Try this as a challenge:

  1. Pick an Am7 guitar chord from this lesson to practice.
  2. Learn it.
  3. Once you’ve learned it, squeeze your hand to remember the chord.
  4. Take your fretting hand away from the fret board.
  5. Look into the corner of the room that you’re sitting. (You must not be able to see the fret board!)
  6. Try and play the Am7 guitar chord without looking at the fret board.
  7. Strum the Am7 guitar chord. Does it sound right?

If the chord sounds great and is correct, awesome! If you didn’t get it right, don’t worry. Just, repeat steps 2 – 7 again.

3) Use Am7 Instead Of An Am Chord In Any Song That You’re Learning

One of the best ways to practice guitar chords is to use them in a musical situation.

Any time you see an Am guitar chord, use an Am7 instead. 

You can apply this to any of the songs that you’re currently learning.

For example, if the chord progression was:

  • A minor | C Major | D Major | E Major

Every time the A minor guitar chord crops, you play an A minor 7 instead. Your chord progression now becomes:

  • A minor 7 | C Major | D Major | E Major

What songs use an Am7 guitar chord?

The Am7 guitar chord is featured in loads in music. We’re going to show you 3 of our favourite songs which feature the Am7 guitar chord.

1) ‘Shake It Off’ by Taylor Swift

This epic hit from Taylor Swift features just 3 chords. Those chords are:

  • Am7
  • C Major
  • G6

Here they are:

Am7 Guitar Chord

To learn this song, watch this video:

2. ‘Get Lucky’ by Daft Punk

This song was one of the biggest hits of 2013. Not only does it sound great, it’s also super-easy to play.

To play this song you must know the following chords:

  • Am7.
  • C major 7.
  • Em
  • Dsus2.

Here are the chords:

Get Lucky Chords

Watch this video to learn how to play this song:

Quick Tip!

To play this song with the track, you must use a capo on the 2nd fret. To learn how to use a capo, go here: How To Use A Capo

3. ‘Let It Be’ by The Beatles

‘Let It Be’ was one of The Beatles most popular songs. It’s fantastic for practicing the Am7 guitar chord as it features frequently throughout the song.

The main chord progression in this song is:

C major | G major | A minor | F major

All this song doesn’t technically use an Am7, you can use an Am7 guitar chord instead of the A minor. This will sound great!

To learn this song in more detail, go here: ‘Let It Be’ by The Beatles – Chord Sheet

4) Practice Moving Between Each Am7 Guitar Chord

Another great way to practice the Am7 guitar chord is to move between each guitar chord.

To do this, start from the lowest point on the fret board and ascend to the highest chord on the fret board.

Practice each chord in this order:

  • Open Am7 guitar chord.
  • Am7 guitar chord. (Gm7 shape.)
  • Am7 guitar chord. (Em7 shape.)
  • Am7 guitar chord. (Dm7 shape.)
  • Am7 guitar chord. (Cm7 shape.)
  • Am7 guitar chord. (Am7 barre shape.)

If you master this, try going from the highest point on the fret board, and descend to the lowest note.

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