semicord

Bmaj7 B major seventh chord

Notes
B D# F# A#
Formula
1 3 5 7
Semitones
0 4 7 11 above the root
Other symbols
BM7, BΔ7

B to D# is a major third (4 semitones), D# to F# is a minor third (3 semitones), F# to A# is a major third (4 semitones). A major triad plus the note a half step below the root (A#). It has no tritone, so it sounds settled and soft rather than restless like B7.

Bmaj7 on the piano

C4D4E4F4G4A4B4C5D5E5F5G5A5B5C#4Eb4F#4Ab4Bb4C#5D#5F#5Ab5A#5C4BC5D#F#A#

Root position from B4: B4, D#5, F#5, A#5. Middle C is C4.

Bmaj7 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 B as its lowest note.

×BBF#F#A#A#D#D#F#F#
A-shape barre, root on the A string at fret 2
x 2 4 3 4 2 (low E to high e)
Sounds B2 F#3 A#3 D#4 F#4
7frBB×A#A#D#D#F#F#×
E-shape barre, root on the E string at fret 7
7 x 8 8 7 x (low E to high e)
Sounds B2 A#3 D#4 F#4

The barre shapes 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.

Inversions of Bmaj7

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.

PositionNotes, bass firstNamedListen
Root positionB D# F# A#Bmaj7
1st inversionD# F# A# BBmaj7/D#
2nd inversionF# A# B D#Bmaj7/F#
3rd inversionA# B D# F#B/A# (also read as Bmaj7/A#)

Where Bmaj7 fits

Bmaj7 is Imaj7 in B major, IVmaj7 in F# major.