Em7 ukulele chord
Mellow and smooth. Softer than a plain minor chord, and the backbone of soul, funk, and jazz comping.
E minor 7th · standard GCEA tuning · 3 shapes
How to Play Em7 on Ukulele
The easiest shape is 0202: G string open · C string 2nd fret · E string open · A string 2nd fret.
Open position
0 2 0 2
Barre at fret 7
7 7 7 7
Up the neck, fret 3
4 4 3 5
Strings left to right are G, C, E and A, as the ukulele faces you. Numbers are frets; 0 means play the string open. Every shape is worked out from the notes the chord must contain and checked against them before it is published.
Notes in Em7
A ukulele has four strings, so a 4-note chord uses every string for a different note — there is nothing left to double. Because the G string is tuned high (reentrant tuning), the lowest note you hear is usually on the C or E string, not the G.
Songs and Keys That Use Em7
Em7 belongs to 3 major keys: C major (as the iii chord), D major (as the ii chord) and G major (as the vi chord).
- I – iii – IV – V — a bright, lifting movement
- ii – V – I — the central cadence in jazz
- I – vi – ii – V — the 1950s doo-wop turnaround
Em7 on Other Instruments
- Guitar: see the Em7 guitar chord — six strings, so the shapes are different, but the notes are the same.
- Baritone ukulele (DGBE): 0000. A baritone is tuned like the top four strings of a guitar, so guitar shapes carry over and standard-ukulele shapes do not. Tune one with the baritone ukulele tuner.
- Same notes: Em7 contains exactly the notes of G6, so one shape plays both.
Related Ukulele Chords
Tune first
A right shape on an out-of-tune ukulele still sounds wrong. Check G, C, E and A in a few seconds.
Open the Ukulele Tuner →