Major 7th chord · Eb root
Ebmaj7 chord
- Eb1
- G3
- Bb5
- D7
The Eb major 7th chord (also written D#maj7, same notes, different spelling) is built from the notes Eb, G, Bb, D. It turns up 10 times in the 80 songs on this site, including Autumn Leaves and Blue Bossa.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the Ebmaj7 chord?
The Ebmaj7 chord (Eb major 7th) is a major 7th chord built from four notes: Eb, G, Bb, D — the 1–3–5–7 of the Eb scale, 4 semitones and 7 semitones and 11 semitones above the root. On guitar it is most often played as a movable shape from fret 6 (x-6-8-7-8-6), so the same fingering works at any fret. It is rated intermediate. A soft, jazzy chord heard all over neo-soul and bossa. It is one of the most-used chords in this site's library: across the 80 song sheets charted here, Ebmaj7 appears 10 times in 3 songs, most often in the keys of Cm and Gm, and the chord it most often moves to is D#maj7. Below you will find step-by-step fingering, 3 positions up the neck, audio of every shape, and the real progressions this chord lives inside.
How do you play the Ebmaj7 chord on guitar?
Fret 6 barre — a movable shape, so this same fingering works for every root note.
- Lay your index finger flat across the A to high E strings at fret 6, rolled slightly onto its bony edge.
- Press the D string at fret 8 with your ring finger.
- Press the G string at fret 7 with your middle finger.
- Press the B string at fret 8 with your pinky finger.
- Start your strum on the A string and do not play the low E string at all.
Drop the lowest fretted note (A string) and play the rest as a four- or five-string shape. You lose the bass note but keep every note that gives the chord its name, and there is no barre left to fight. x-x-8-7-8-6
How do you make Ebmaj7 sound clean?
Ebmaj7 at the 6th fret gets squeezed instead of using the lightest possible barre.
Ebmaj7 → Fm7 → Bb7: the ii–V–I in Eb, one position.
In real songs
What songs use the Ebmaj7 chord?
- chord changes
- 10
- songs
- 3
- common keys
- Cm · Gm
Across the 80 chord sheets on this site, Ebmaj7 appears 10 times in 3 songs — most often in the keys of Cm and Gm.
Cm7F7A#maj7D#maj7
Cm7F7A#maj7D#maj7
Cm7F7A#maj7D#maj7
Chord flow
What chord comes after Ebmaj7?
Every number here is a count from the progressions in our song sheets, not a generalisation: 1560 chord changes are behind these figures.
Three-chord moves
Three-chord moves are where a chord really shows its character. These are the ones that actually happen in this library, counted from the sheets:
What other ways can you play Ebmaj7 up the neck?
2 more positions below. These are the same notes in a different part of the neck. Choosing the position closest to the chord you just played is what stops your hand jumping between changes.
Position 2 · Fret 1 barre
No open strings, so this is a movable shape: slide it up or down and the same fingering gives you a different chord name.
One bar does most of the work. Roll that finger onto its bony edge and pull the elbow slightly in — a barre that buzzes is almost always a position problem, not a strength problem.
Position 3 · Fret 11 barre
Every note here is fretted, which means the shape transposes anywhere on the neck without changing your fingers.
The barre is the only hard part of this shape. Keep the bar finger straight and use the weight of your arm rather than the grip of your thumb.
The theory behind Ebmaj7
Ebmaj7 is spelled Eb – G – Bb – D — the 1 – 3 – 5 – 7 of the Eb scale, which is the root plus 4 semitones, 7 semitones, 11 semitones. A soft, jazzy chord heard all over neo-soul and bossa.
The major seventh sits a semitone under the octave, which is why it sounds soft rather than tense. On guitar it is usually the highest fretted note, so it is also the first note to disappear if your finger rolls off.
Ebmaj7 on other instruments
Eb – G – Bb – D — the highlighted black keys are the sharps or flats; play each note once, then move them into one hand position.
Take it to the practice room
