Gm7 Guitar Chord
Gm7 is the G minor seventh chord. It has four notes: G, B flat, D and F. You play it as a six string barre at the 3rd fret with only two fingers, and fret 3 sits far enough from the nut that the barre presses more easily than it would at fret 1 or 2.
Barre six strings at fret 3, add the ring finger on the A string at fret 5, done. One of the cleanest examples of the movable Em7 shape.
How to play Gm7, step by step
- Index finger: press flat across the low E to high E strings at fret 3
- Ring finger: 5th fret, A string
- Strum all six strings.
Learn this grip well and you get chords for free: the identical shape is Fm7 at fret 1 and Am7 at fret 5.
More ways to play Gm7
There are 3 common Gm7 shapes in total: the standard one at the top of the page, plus these, easiest first. You only ever need one. Tap any card to hear it.
Slimmer and brighter, with the low strings silent.
Tighter and sharper edged than the fret 3 barre, useful over a band.
Songs that use the Gm7 chord
Three reasons a Gm7 barre fails
- Muted strings in the middle of the barre
- Five of the six notes come from the barre, so any sag silences something. Flatten the finger, roll it a touch toward the nut, and test the D and G strings, the usual victims.
- High E buzzes
- The far end of the index finger has to press as firmly as the rest. Slide the whole finger slightly so the high E string sits under solid flesh rather than the crease of a joint.
- Ring finger kills the D string
- It frets the A string at fret 5 and should arrive on its tip. When it leans back it mutes the D string, and the seventh goes with it.
What makes it a Gm7
G · B♭ · D · F 1 ♭3 5 ♭7
Gm7 is a minor seventh chord: a G minor triad (G, Bb, D) plus a minor seventh (F). The F softens G minor's natural gravity into something closer to a shrug. Its working keys: Gm7 is the ii chord of F major, where it walks to C7, and the vi chord of Bb major. Jazz and soul tunes in F lean on that ii V constantly, and that is where Gm7 does most of its work.
Gm vs Gm7
Gm and Gm7 share the 3rd fret barre. Gm frets the D string at fret 5 with the pinky; in Gm7 the barre holds that string and it sounds an F, the seventh. That one note is the whole difference, and it changes the mood: Gm is stern, Gm7 is easy going. The m7 is also the simpler grip, two fingers against Gm's three.
Gm7 chord questions
Is Gm7 a barre chord?
The standard shape barres all six strings at fret 3 with just one extra finger added, which makes it one of the least crowded barre chords. A no barre version at frets 5 to 7 is on this page too.
What is the difference between Gm and Gm7?
Gm7 adds an F note. On guitar you lift the pinky off the D string and let the barre sound the F. The chord softens.
What songs use Gm7?
What a Wonderful World passes through Gm7 on its way back to F. More broadly, almost any song in F major will use Gm7 as its ii chord.
What keys use Gm7?
F major, where it is the ii chord, Bb major, where it is the vi, and G minor itself.
Is Gm7 harder than Fm7?
Same shape, friendlier fret. At fret 3 the strings give in more easily than at fret 1, so most players find Gm7 the more comfortable of the two.
Chords to learn next
Other G chords
Gm7 guitar chord chart (353333) from melodician.com