Fmaj7 is the F major seventh chord, made of the notes F A C E. Most guitarists play it as X X 3 2 1 0, an open chord. Below are all 6 ways to hold Fmaj7 on the guitar, from the lowest on the neck to the highest, and the same chord in Drop D and DADGAD. The TabTunix app plays each one. Check out our full chord library.
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Fmaj7
X X 3 2 1 0
Notes
Degrees: R 3 5 7. Notes: F A C E.
RF
3A
5C
7E
Tuning
Inversions
Voicings
How to play Fmaj7
The shape most players use is X X 3 2 1 0, from the lowest string to the highest. Hold it like this:
Put your ring finger on the D string at fret 3.
Put your middle finger on the G string at fret 2.
Put your index finger on the B string at fret 1.
Let the high E string ring open.
Do not play the low E and A strings.
Fmaj7
X X 3 2 1 0
6 ways to play Fmaj7
Every shape the chord library holds for Fmaj7 in standard tuning, from low on the neck to high. In each one F is the lowest note; they differ in where your hand sits and in which strings ring.
A major seventh chord is the root, the major third, the fifth and the major seventh: R 3 (5) 7. The fifth can be left out.
Put another of its notes in the bass and Fmaj7 becomes an inversion, written with a slash: Fmaj7/A, Fmaj7/C and Fmaj7/E. Below, the first shape of each.
Fmaj7/A
X 0 3 2 1 0
Fmaj7/C
X 3 3 2 1 0
Fmaj7/E
0 0 3 2 1 0
Keys and progressions with Fmaj7
Fmaj7 is one of the chords of these keys, with its number in each. The chords of a key are the chords built on the notes of its scale.
IVmaj7 in C major
Imaj7 in F major
bIIImaj7 in D minor
bVImaj7 in A minor
It stands in these chord progressions of the app, in the key each opens in:
Royal Road in C major: Fmaj7, G7, Em7, Am
Fmaj7 in Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD
In Drop D, Fmaj7 is 3 3 3 2 1 0, where Standard has X X 3 2 1 0.
In Drop C, Fmaj7 is X X 5 4 3 2, where Standard has X X 3 2 1 0.
In Drop B, Fmaj7 is X X 6 5 4 3, where Standard has X X 3 2 1 0.
In DADGAD, Fmaj7 is 3 0 2 2 3 2, where Standard has X X 3 2 1 0.
More on each tuning: Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD, all under guitar tunings.
Fmaj7 in Drop D
3 3 3 2 1 0
Fmaj7 in Drop C
X X 5 4 3 2
Fmaj7 in Drop B
X X 6 5 4 3
Fmaj7 in DADGAD
3 0 2 2 3 2
Chords next door
On the same root, with a page of their own: F, Fm. The same type a fifth up and a fifth down: Cmaj7 and Bbmaj7.
A chord is yours when you can change to it in time. In TabTunix, put Fmaj7 and the chord before it into a chord-change exercise, set a target tempo, and play the change to a click that counts you through it. Rate each take, and the app keeps your best tempo, so you see it climb.