E Minor Major 7th (Em(maj7))

Download MIDI
1+b3+5+7
E1G2B3D#5
4 4

Notes in E Minor Major 7th

E (root)GBD#

Inversions

Same notes as E Minor Major 7th, with a different chord tone as the lowest note. Useful for smoother movement between chords instead of jumping around the keyboard.

Root position

E in the bass

E1G2B3D#5

1st inversion

G in the bass (Em(maj7)/G)

G1B2E5D#4

2nd inversion

B in the bass (Em(maj7)/B)

B1E3G5D#2

3rd inversion

D# in the bass (Em(maj7)/D#)

E2G3B5D#1

Open voicings

A close-position chord like E Minor Major 7th can sound cluttered in the middle of the keyboard. Jazz players open it up by dropping one note down an octave, spreading the same notes wider without changing the chord.

Drop 2

B on the bottom

B3E1G2D#5

Drop 3

G on the bottom

G2E1B3D#5

Press E, G, B and D# together on the keyboard and you're playing E Minor Major 7th.

A rarer hybrid: a minor triad topped with a major seventh instead of the expected minor one. It's moody in a very specific, unresolved way, and it's the sound most associated with spy-movie tension and certain noir moments in jazz and musical theater where a minor chord needs to feel unsettled rather than simply sad.

Difficulty: Advanced. Category: Seventh chords. Click any highlighted key on the diagram above, or tab to it and press Enter, to hear that single note. Inversions mark the bass note with a contrasting outline.