Am7 Query

hoeshack

Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Trying to learn a new song but there's a chord diagram for Am7 which it indicates to be played exactly like the c chord. Is this correct. I am new to ukulele but I know there are many ways to play the same chord, but I can't find info for this one anywhere online.
 
A useful resource for looking at various ways to play the same chord is.
http://ukulelehelper.com/

I don't know a great deal about chord construction, but from what I see on chordfinder it seems yes you can play am7 like that if you wish, but it doesn't include the root note (A) so probably isn't ideal. Having said that, if it sounds good that way in the context of the song the you can happily go with it.
 
In a Normally tuned C6 Uke it is played 0000. This is also a C6 and and E something depending upon the chord leading and following.

Check out the first sticky on the Beginners page, excellent resource written by a UU member.
 
Where's ubulele? He could explain it.
 
Am7 and C6 have the same fingering (0000). Similarly, Bm7 and D6 have the same fingering (2222), as do C#m7 and E6 (4444), etc., on up the fretboard.
 
A C chord shape doesn't really double as an Am7 chord, but it contains three of the four Am7 pitches, and thus can stand in for an Am7 chord—in theory. I would argue, however, that you'd need a lot of supporting context for someone to actually hear it as an Am7 instead of as a simple major C chord. The fact that the first-position C chord doubles the C at an octave interval strongly works against anyone hearing this chord as anything but C major. I hate poor substitutions like this.

On the other hand, C6 and Am7 are virtual soundalikes, ignoring all other context:
C6 = C, E, G, A
Am7 = A, C, E, G
Same shapes, same note names, just in a different order. You can change the octaves and order of the pitches and still not effectively change the harmonic identity of a chord. So out of context, these pitches could be heard either way (or even as rootless Fmaj7: [F] A C E G). What makes the difference in how we do hear it is context, conventions and expectations. And sometimes, it's truly ambiguous: either interpretation would serve equally well, sort of like the optical illusion of the vase that could be also be seen as faces in opposing profiles—you can see them in turn, but not at the same time. Usually, however, surrounding cues bias us toward one interpretation, ruling out the other possibilities.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom