semicord

Fmaj7 F major seventh chord

Notes
F A C E
Formula
1 3 5 7
Semitones
0 4 7 11 above the root
Other symbols
FM7, FΔ7

F to A is a major third (4 semitones), A to C is a minor third (3 semitones), C to E is a major third (4 semitones). A major triad plus the note a half step below the root (E). It has no tritone, so it sounds settled and soft rather than restless like F7.

Fmaj7 on the piano

C4D4E4F4G4A4B4C5D5E5F5G5A5B5C#4Eb4F#4Ab4Bb4C#5Eb5F#5Ab5Bb5C4FACC5E

Root position from F4: F4, A4, C5, E5. Middle C is C4.

Fmaj7 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 F as its lowest note.

FF×EEAACC×
E-shape barre, root on the E string at fret 1
1 x 2 2 1 x (low E to high e)
Sounds F2 E3 A3 C4
8fr×FFCCEEAACC
A-shape barre, root on the A string at fret 8
x 8 10 9 10 8 (low E to high e)
Sounds F3 C4 E4 A4 C5

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 Fmaj7

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 positionF A C EFmaj7
1st inversionA C E FFmaj7/A
2nd inversionC E F AFmaj7/C
3rd inversionE F A CF/E (also read as Fmaj7/E)

Where Fmaj7 fits

Fmaj7 is Imaj7 in F major, IVmaj7 in C major.