Voicings · Am△7 · Guitar
Am△7 is spelled A – C – E – G♯ (1 ♭3 5 7) — a minor tonic with a raised seventh — the melodic-minor tonic. Here are 5 ways to voice it on guitar: drop 2, drop 3, shell, rootless a, rootless b. Every diagram is playable — press play to hear the chord, or “roll it” to hear the voices one by one, low to high.
The voicings
Take the close voicing and drop its second-highest voice an octave. The most-used four-note voicing on guitar and in piano left hands. Strings D-G-B-e, frets 2-2-1-4.
Drop the third-highest voice of the close voicing an octave: a wide, open sound. Strings A-G-B-e, frets 3-2-5-4 (position 1).
Root, seventh and third only. The fifth is dropped — it adds nothing to the chord's identity — leaving a light, clear voicing. Strings E-D-G, frets 5-6-5 (position 2).
Bill Evans-style left-hand voicing: the third on the bottom, the ninth on top, the bass player supplies the root. Strings E-A-D-G, frets 8-7-6-4 (position 4).
The companion rootless voicing with the seventh on the bottom. Alternate A and B so the top voice moves by step through a ii–V–I. Strings E-A-G-B, frets 4-2-5-5 (position 1).
Reference
| Chord tone | Note | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | unison |
| ♭3 | C | minor 3rd |
| 5 | E | perfect 5th |
| 7 | G♯ | major 7th |
Arpeggio: Am△7 arpeggio on guitar. Scale: A Melodic minor.
Common questions
A, C, E, G♯ — chord tones 1 ♭3 5 7. Rootless voicings add the 9th, B, and leave the root to the bass.
The shell voicing (root, seventh, third) on strings E, D, G: three notes, one comfortable shape, and it still sounds unmistakably like Am△7.
Start from the close voicing A C E G♯ and drop the second note from the top an octave: E – A – C – G♯. It spreads the chord so it fits the hand — and on guitar it fits four adjacent strings.
Am△7 is a minor tonic with a raised seventh — the melodic-minor tonic. Its character is noir, cinematic.
Keep going
Same chord on piano · Minor-major 7th hub.
Other chords from A