As the tonic (I)F major
Home. The loop leaves Fmaj7 and keeps coming back to it.
Fmaj7 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The Fmaj7 chord is a major seventh chord built on the root note F. Its notes are F, A, C and E.
Transpose
Quality
Short answer
Major seventh chords are lush, open and slightly jazzy. Stacking a major third on top of a major triad gives them a dreamy colour often heard in bossa nova, soul and modern R&B.
- Notes
- F · A · C · E
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · 7
- Semitones
- 0 · 4 · 7 · 11
- Note
- F
- Quality
- Major 7
- Symbol
- Fmaj7
Fmaj7 on piano
4 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play Fmaj7 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on F, index finger on A, middle finger on C and little finger on E. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard every note of Fmaj7 is a white key. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- F1
- A3
- C5
- E7
Fmaj7 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, Fmaj7 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. The fretted notes sit between frets 1 and 3. String 1 rings open. Don't play strings 6 and 5.
F · A · C · E
Play Fmaj7 on the online piano
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Fmaj7 chord notes
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | F | |
| 3 | Major third | 4 | A | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | C | |
| 7 | Major seventh | 11 | E |
How to use the Fmaj7 chord
The Fmaj7 chord is built from a root, a major third, a perfect fifth and a major seventh. Start at the root F and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: F, A, C and E. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Major seventh chords colour jazz standards, bossa nova, soul and modern pop. They most often serve as Imaj7 or IVmaj7 in a major key to add warmth without changing the function.
In major keys Fmaj7 is the IVmaj7 in C major and the Imaj7 in F major; in minor keys it's the VImaj7 in A minor and the IIImaj7 in D minor.
How Fmaj7 differs from similar chords
Fmaj7 is not F7: its seventh sits a half step below the root rather than a whole step, so it floats instead of pulling. Next to F6, which adds the sixth instead, Fmaj7 sounds lusher and more modern. The major seventh is the only note that separates it from a plain F triad.
Songs that use the Fmaj7 chord
These well-known tracks all play the Fmaj7 chord somewhere - they are not necessarily in that key.
- 1Don't Know WhyNorah Jones
- 2Just the Two of UsBill Withers
- 3Isn't She LovelyStevie Wonder
- 4Make It With YouBread
- 5More Than WordsExtreme
Where Fmaj7 is used
A major chord is at home as a tonic, and just as useful as the IV or the V of a neighbouring key. Each progression below is written in the key its numerals name.
As the IVC major
- Imaj7Cmaj7
- IVmaj7Fmaj7
- V7G7
- Imaj7Cmaj7
Fmaj7 is the step away from home that makes the return feel like a return.
As the goal of a ii-V-IF major
The oldest cadence there is: two chords of preparation, then Fmaj7.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the Fmaj7 chord?
- The Fmaj7 chord contains F, A, C and E.
- Is the Fmaj7 chord major or minor?
- Fmaj7 is a major seventh chord. Major seventh chords are lush, open and slightly jazzy. Stacking a major third on top of a major triad gives them a dreamy colour often heard in bossa nova, soul and modern R&B.
- What key is the Fmaj7 chord in?
- In major keys Fmaj7 is the IVmaj7 in C major and the Imaj7 in F major; in minor keys it's the VImaj7 in A minor and the IIImaj7 in D minor.
- How do you play Fmaj7 on piano?
- Place your fingers on F, A, C and E and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right. On the keyboard every note of Fmaj7 is a white key.
- How do you play Fmaj7 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. The fretted notes sit between frets 1 and 3. String 1 rings open. Don't play strings 6 and 5.
- What chords work well with Fmaj7?
- Fmaj7 pairs naturally with the chords in the related section: a perfect fifth up or down, the relative major or minor, and anything sharing two notes with it.