FMaj7 Chord - Learn to Play on Guitar & Piano Keyboard

This article on the FMaj7 chord deals with its music theory, associated scales, note patterns layout on the fretboard, open, movable, and barre patterns, piano note layouts, inversions, fingering, etc.

Read the complete article below to learn all about playing the FMaj7 chord!

Music Theory, Notes & Intervals of the FMaj7 Chord

The salient aspects of the FMaj7 chord music theory are:

It is formed by stacking a major third interval over the F major triad, F, A, and C.
It has notes F, A, C, and E.
The three intervals of the chord are R – M3 – m3 – M3.
The intervals of the notes from the root note are R – M3 – P5 – M7.

F Major 7 Chord Scales

The FMaj7 chord is formed naturally in the following scales.

C Major scale and all its modes.
F Major scale and all its modes.
A Harmonic Minor and all its modes.
F Harmonic Major and all its modes

How To Play the F Major 7 chord

Let us see how to play the F Major Seventh Chords on the guitar and the piano keyboard in the sections below.

FMaj7 Guitar Chord – Map Chord Tones Along The Fretboard

In the fretboard diagram below, you can see the chord tones F, A, C, and E laid down up to an octave. You must study the pattern and correlate the various chord shapes that we will recommend in the upcoming sections.

F Major Seventh Chord – Guitar Chord Shapes and Fingerings

Like all other guitar chords, the playing options of the Fmaj7 guitar chord can be broadly classified into open shapes, movable shapes, and barre chords.

The number in the black circle in any chord diagram indicates the fret. Similarly, the number in the red circle indicates the finger number. The fingers are numbered as

1 – Index Finger,
2 – Middle Finger,
3 – Ring finger,
4 – Little Finger.

The strings marked with an ‘X’ in the black circle must be skipped or muted, while those marked as ‘O’ must be played open.

Open Positions

The five open shapes to play the Fmaj7 chord are described as under:

O1 – Construction – (x – x – x – 2 – 1 – 0). Notes – (3, 5, and 7). This is a rootless voicing.
O2 – Construction – (x – x – 3 – 2 – 1 – 0). Notes – (1, 3, 5, and 7).
O3 – Construction – (1 – x – 3 – 2 – 1 – 0). Notes – (1, 1, 3, 5, and 7).
O4 – Construction – (x – 3– 3 – 2 – 1 – 0). Notes – (5, 1, 3, 5, and 7). C is the bass note.
O5 – Construction – (x – 0 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 0). Notes – (3, 1, 3, 5, and 7). A is the bass note, while the root note is on the D string.

Movable Positions

The seven commonly found movable chord voicings of the F major 7th chord are described below:

M1 – Construction – (1 – x – 2 – 2 – x – x). Notes – (1, 7, and 3). The root note is on the first fret. 5th note is omitted.
M2 – Construction – (1 – x – 2 – 2 – 1 – x). Notes – (1, 7, 3, and 5). This is a four-string voicing.
M3 – Construction – (5 – x – 3 – 5 – 5 – x). Notes – (3, 1, 5, and 7). A is the bass note.
M4 – Construction – (x – x – 7 – 9 – 6 – 8). Notes – (3, 7, 1, and 5). A is the bass note.
M5 – Construction – (x – 8 – 10 – 9 – x – x). Notes – (1, 5, and 7). This three-note voicing has the F note on the A string.
M6 – Construction – (x – 8 – 10 – 9 – 10 – x). Notes – (1, 5, 7, and 3).
M7 – Construction – (x – 8 – 7 – 9 – 10 – x). Notes – (1, 3, 7, and 3). In this chord shape, the 5th is omitted.

Barre Chord Shapes

The nine Barre positions for the Fmaj7 guitar chord are described below:

B1 – (7, 3, 5, and 1) – E is the bass note (third inversion).
B2 – (1, 5, 1, 3, 5, and 7).
B3 – (5, 1, 5, 7, and 3) – C is the bass note (second inversion).
B4 – (1, 5, 7, and 3).
B5 – (7, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 3). E is the bass note. It uses an open low e-string for the bass.
B6 – (1, 3, 5, 7, and 3).
B7 – (7, 1, 5, 7, 3, and 5). It uses the 6th string as bass like B5.
B8 – (1, 5, 7, 3, and 5).
B9 – (5, 1, 3, and 7). C is the bass note (second inversion).