Why is this Chord Bm7?

[jushin]

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In this note, the middle chord says Bm7, but isn't this D major 11th? The bass note is D, and the upper hand plays Dmaj11, so why is this Bm7?

P.S. The scale is in E minor

[Nystul]

The piano chord could be described as D major (assuming there is an F# in the key signature we can't see), but the guitar chord box appears to have B as the low note. It can be that they chose not to include a B in this piano arrangement, but that it is actually present in the full arrangement of the song.

[jushin]

The piano chord could be described as D major (assuming there is an F# in the key signature we can't see), but the guitar chord box appears to have B as the low note. It can be that they chose not to include a B in this piano arrangement, but that it is actually present in the full arrangement of the song.

You mean the Low note like Dmaj11/B?

BTW, it is in the key of G

[Gamma-UT]

The D looks to be more important harmonically. You've got a v-i cadence with the bass in D moving up to the root of the i chord, plus a vocal line that exploits that D as the seventh of the Emin moving up to the root again.

Also, there's a sudden change in register to a chord that needs the B. Leaving it out from the preceding chord helps reinforce that movement, especially as you have very smooth voiceleading on the way into that rootless Bmin7.

Try it with the B instead of the D in that position and with a full Bm7. My guess is that the former doesn't work as well in context as the rootless version and the latter is too muddy.

[ImNotDedYet]

It's merely a rootless voicing of the b min 7 chord. Chords without the root are fairly common as the bass player often plays a combination of the root and fifth of the chord and doesn't like the piano player stealing his/her notes. If you want, you can throw a b in the voicing to make the chord feel more like the bin it's supposed to be, provided your bass player isn't going to play the root. the key here is the v - i cadence of chords as mentioned.

[jushin]

It's merely a rootless voicing of the b min 7 chord. Chords without the root are fairly common as the bass player often plays a combination of the root and fifth of the chord and doesn't like the piano player stealing his/her notes. If you want, you can throw a b in the voicing to make the chord feel more like the bin it's supposed to be, provided your bass player isn't going to play the root. the key here is the v - i cadence of chords as mentioned.

I thought the cadence was only applied to the major scale. Guess it works for the minor scale too

[Gamma-UT]

I thought the cadence was only applied to the major scale. Guess it works for the minor scale too

There's no leading tone so it's not a real cadence in common-practice classical terms. But it's close enough for jazz, or pop.

[BERFAB]

I always love when these theory questions come up, because the discussions always bring up perspectives that I otherwise would not have seen.

My own theory training approached the subject, overall, as a 'science.' Over time, however, I've learned that it is all really just 'theory.' The science is far from settled.

Cheers
-B

[stillshaded]

Err... Where are you getting 11th from?

11th would be G.

Also, you will never see a maj11 chord. The half step between the 3rd and fourth sounds bad. If there is no third but a 4th (11) instead, you have a sus chord.

You will see maj#11 chords in more harmonically rich stuff, but rarely in pop songs.

[stillshaded]

Oh now I see.. The half note. That note is actually just not in the chord. I guess they just fudged it. You won't see a g (b6) in a minor chord. You will see g# (6) sometime. That's a m6 chord.