Amaj7 A major seventh chord
- Notes
- A C# E G#
- Formula
- 1 3 5 7
- Semitones
- 0 4 7 11 above the root
- Other symbols
- AM7, AΔ7
A to C# is a major third (4 semitones), C# to E is a minor third (3 semitones), E to G# is a major third (4 semitones). A major triad plus the note a half step below the root (G#). It has no tritone, so it sounds settled and soft rather than restless like A7.
Amaj7 on the piano
Root position from A4: A4, C#5, E5, G#5. Middle C is C4.
Amaj7 on the guitar
Standard tuning (E A D G B E). Strings run low E on the left to high e on the right, frets downwards; × is a muted string, ○ an open string, and each dot shows the note it sounds, with the root in blue-green. Every shape below has A as its lowest note.
x 0 2 1 2 0 (low E to high e)
Sounds A2 E3 G#3 C#4 E4
5 x 6 6 5 x (low E to high e)
Sounds A2 G#3 C#4 E4
The E-shape and A-shape grips are movable: an E-shape chord's root is the note under your first finger on the low E string, an A-shape chord's root is the note on the A string. Slide the same grip up or down to play major seventh chords on other roots.
Amaj7 on the ukulele
Standard ukulele tuning is G C E A, drawn with the G string on the left and frets downwards, as ukulele chord charts show it. The G string is tuned higher than the C string (G4 above middle C, a fifth over C4), so the lowest note you hear is usually on the C or E string, not on the G string, and a shape can sound as an inversion even when its root is on the G string. All four strings are strummed, so every string plays a chord tone; the root is in blue-green.
1100 (G C E A)
Sounds G#4 C#4 E4 A4
Lowest note C#4, so the chord finder reads it as Amaj7/C# (first inversion).
2444 (G C E A)
Sounds A4 E4 G#4 C#5
Lowest note E4, so the chord finder reads it as Amaj7/E (second inversion).
Inversions of Amaj7
An inversion puts a note other than the root in the bass. The name is what semicord's chord finder calls those notes played bottom to top; a slash name like C/E means a C chord with E in the bass.
| Position | Notes, bass first | Named | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root position | A C# E G# | Amaj7 | |
| 1st inversion | C# E G# A | Amaj7/C# | |
| 2nd inversion | E G# A C# | Amaj7/E | |
| 3rd inversion | G# A C# E | A/G# (also read as Amaj7/G#) |