Fm7, the F minor 7 guitar chord
Fm7 is the open Em7 grip carried up one fret: the index barres all six strings at the 1st fret, right where the F and Fm barres sit. It is Fm with the pinky lifted off the D string. With only the index and ring finger working it is the easiest barre chord to hold, but the D string is fretted by the barre alone, which is exactly where a tired index finger gives up. Soul ballads in A♭ and E♭ reach for it. Pick the D string by itself before you strum.
How to play it
- Index finger flattened across the low E string (6th), D string (4th), G string (3rd), B string (2nd) and high E string (1st), 1st fret.
- Ring finger on the A string (5th), 3rd fret.
Changes to practice
Holding Fm7 still is the easy part. Songs need you to arrive at it in rhythm, so in Strumhold you practice Fm7 as changes, alongside the rest of the Barre Minor 7ths set:
- Fm7 ↔ Bm7 F minor 7 to B minor 7 Drill
- Fm7 ↔ G♯m7 F minor 7 to G♯ minor 7 Drill
- Fm7 ↔ C♯m7 F minor 7 to C♯ minor 7 Drill
- Fm7 ↔ F♯m7 F minor 7 to F♯ minor 7 Drill
- Fm7 ↔ B♭m7 F minor 7 to B♭ minor 7 Drill
- Fm7 ↔ E♭m7 F minor 7 to E♭ minor 7 Drill