Chord Shapes

Minor 7th

Intervals: 1-b3-5-b7. One of the core harmonies in jazz. The minor 7th chord sounds mellow, cool and slightly melancholic but not highly tense. In major keys it appears naturally as ii, iii and vi; in minor, as i or iv and on other scale degrees by modal interchange. As a ii chord in the ubiquitous ii–V–I, it has predominant function and leads smoothly into V via guide tones: the b7 of ii drops to the 3rd of V and the b3 of ii often resolves to the 7th or 9th of V. In modal jazz, long vamps on a single m7 (e.g. Dm7 in “So What” or “Impressions”) exploit its open, non-resolving character. Minor 7ths also take 9ths and 11ths very naturally, broadening into m9 and m11 sounds without needing to resolve quickly.