Major 7th chord · F root
Fmaj7 chord
- F1
- A3
- C5
- E7
The F major 7th chord is built from the notes F, A, C, E. It turns up 8 times in the 80 songs on this site, including Black Orpheus and Fly Me to the Moon.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the Fmaj7 chord?
The Fmaj7 chord (F major 7th) is a major 7th chord built from four notes: F, A, C, E — the 1–3–5–7 of the F 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 1 (1-3-2-2-1-1), 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, Fmaj7 appears 8 times in 3 songs, most often in the keys of C and Dm, and the chord it most often moves to is A#7. 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 Fmaj7 chord on guitar?
Fret 1 barre — a movable shape, so this same fingering works for every root note.
- Lay your index finger flat across the low E to high E strings at fret 1, rolled slightly onto its bony edge.
- Press the A string at fret 3 with your ring finger.
- Press the D string at fret 2 with your middle finger.
- Press the G string at fret 2 with your middle finger.
- Strum all six strings and let every one ring.
Drop the lowest fretted note (low E 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-3-2-2-1-1
How do you make Fmaj7 sound clean?
Letting the thumb creep over and mute the high E kills the shimmer that makes Fmaj7 worth playing. Keep the thumb anchored mid-neck.
Fmaj7 → C: both share the ringing open high E — hear the common tone instead of watching your fingers.
In real songs
What songs use the Fmaj7 chord?
- chord changes
- 8
- songs
- 3
- common keys
- C · Dm
Across the 80 chord sheets on this site, Fmaj7 appears 8 times in 3 songs — most often in the keys of C and Dm.
Dm7Cm9Fmaj7A#7
Fmaj7A#7A7Dm7
Fmaj7Bm7b5E7Am7
Chord flow
What chord comes after Fmaj7?
Those figures are counted from the 80 chord sheets on this site, so they describe what songwriters actually played rather than what theory says should come next.
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 Fmaj7 up the neck?
2 more positions below. Learn one of these well and the rest become optional. The value of a second position is practical: it keeps your fretting hand near where the song is already heading.
Position 2 · Fret 3 barre
Because nothing rings open, you can move this whole shape to any fret and it keeps the same quality — only the letter name changes.
A single bar covers the rest of the strings here. If the inside strings stay dead, move the bar a millimetre closer to the fret wire before you try pressing harder.
Position 3 · Fret 8 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.
Watch the Fmaj7 chord
Video: JustinGuitar on YouTube — embedded with the official player; credit and views belong to the creator.
The theory behind Fmaj7
Fmaj7 is spelled F – A – C – E — the 1 – 3 – 5 – 7 of the F 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.
Fmaj7 on other instruments
2 4 1 0
The same chord on four strings in standard tuning. Because the uke is tuned higher, this shape sits at a different place on the neck than its guitar equivalent — useful when arranging for both instruments.
F – A – C – E — all white keys, so you can find the shape by counting up from C.
Take it to the practice room
