Ebm7 guitar chord

3rd inversion · Db in the bass
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About Ebm7 — 3rd inversion

Ebm7 is Eb, Gb, Bb and Db. It keeps the triad and adds the .

In the pair below, the flat 7th replaces a repeated root. Compare with Ebm7 to hear that one note change.

Hear the change

One repeated root moves down a whole step to the minor seventh. The other notes stay the same.

A common place to use Ebm7 is the start of a ii–V. It moves to , the dominant chord a fourth higher.

Also written Ebmin7, Eb-7 or Eb minor 7.

Ebm7 3rd inversion guitar chord diagram: Eb, Gb, Bb, Db, played x-x-11-11-11-14
Ebm7 3rd inversion guitar chord voicing: x-x-11-11-11-14.

What 3rd inversion means

Ebm7 in 3rd inversion puts Db in the bass instead of Eb, the 7th of the chord. The notes are the same; what changes is what the bass line does, which is most of why you would reach for it — it lets the lowest voice move by step where the root would have jumped.

4 of Ebm7’s 19 shapes do this:x4434x9x887x9988xxx-x-11-11-11-14

How to use Ebm7

1The ii of a ii–V, and a chain of them

ii in D♭ major

Ebm7 is the ii of D♭ major: it leads to the dominant a fourth higher. ii–Vs can be chained so each dominant leads to the next ii, and each minor chord’s seventh falls a half step to the next dominant’s third.

Listen for: One line walks down a half step per chord through the whole chain, and holds on the last as the major seventh.

2One shape, two chords

change the bass

Ebm7 has exactly the notes of Gb6. Hold the shape and put the key’s root under it, and the vi chord becomes the I. That is why the vi can stand in for the home chord.

Listen for: Only the bass moves, up a minor third. The four notes above it never change.

Other uses

From the books, without a worked example
  • The vi of a turnaround
    vi in G♭ major

    Ebm7 is the vi of the basic turnaround in G♭ major. In jazz it is usually replaced by an altered dominant on the same root.

    1. Gbmaj7
    2. Ebm7
    3. Abm7
    4. Db7
  • Changed to m6 in the next bar
    i in E♭ minor

    When a minor ii–V lands on Ebm7 and the chord lasts two bars, the second bar can turn it into Ebm6 or a minor-major seventh, melody permitting.

    1. Fm7b5
    2. Bbalt
    3. Ebm7
    4. Ebm6

    Go to the Ebm6 page to hear it →

In which keys. Every note of Ebm7 belongs to C# major, Eb minor, F# major, Ab minor, Bb minor and B major.

What to play over Ebm7

Useful scales

Every scale

Chords near Ebm7

Change one note

Add a note

Minor chords on every root

The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in how this site is built.

Midi Settings

7.5
Play Style
One pass of the pick from the lowest string up, everything left ringing.
Instrument
350
150

Style

Shows each chord the way this style would voice it, and marks which of its alternatives belong to the idiom.

Layout

Left Handed Mode