How do I read piano chords in this format: Em7, Dm7, F#m7?

Question

Please explain how a se of notes, such as c,d,e# would be written in this format. I do not understand music theory at all so please, keep it simple.

Thanks

Answer 1

Well you'll need to learn a little music theory to understand chords.  It's not too complicated, it just takes a little bit of practice and playing around with chords and scales.

For any chord, imagine a basic major scale starting with the note that the chord is called.  For example, a C scale (the easiest to play on piano) goes C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C with no sharps or flats.  The most basic type of chord is called a major triad.  If you just see a chord like "C" or "E," it's a major triad.  For this you just play the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the scale.  So a C chord would be C-E-G.

Then there's a minor scale.  It starts like a major scale, but the 3rd, 6th, and 7th notes of the scale are flat.  So a C minor scale would be C-D-E♭-F-G-A♭-B♭-C, and a C minor triad (written Cm) would be C-E♭-G.

The rest of the chords are variations on the major and minor triads.  A 7th chord means you play the triad (1st, 3rd, and 5th), plus the 7th note in the scale.  A C7 chord would be C-E-G-B, and a Cm7 would be C-E♭-G-B♭.

Here are the chords in your question, see if you can figure out how to find them:

Em7: E-G-B-D

Dm7: D-F-A-C

F#m7: F#-A-C#-D

They're tricky at first, but once you play around with them enough to get the hang of how they work, they're actually pretty simple.  There are also other chord types, like 6th and 9th chords (you should be able to figure out how to play those just by the name), or augmented and diminished chords, which are a bit trickier.