The F Major 7 chord (also written as F Maj 7) contains the notes F, A, C and E. It is produced by taking the root, 3rd, 5th and 7th of the F Major scale. It is essentially a F Major chord, with the 7th note of the Major scale added.
The F Major 7 chord is most commonly played with the root note on the first fret of the sixth string. The chord can also be played very easily as an open chord (see the first shape below). A lot of people struggle to play the F chord, when starting out, because of the bar that is required with the first finger. The open F Major 7 chord can sometimes work as an easy substitute.
The Major 7 chord in general is considered a kind of default chord, as it contains no altered notes of the Major scale (1, 3, 5, 7). It can also be used as a starting point, when figuring out other chords that have the same root note. For example, the F minor 7 chord can be produced by lowering the 3rd and 7th of the F Major 7 chord.
10 Ways To Play The F Major 7 Chord
If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for F Major 7, here they are.
Some Quick F Major 7 Chord Theory
- The F Major 7 chord contains the notes F, A, C and E.
- The F Major 7 chord is produced by taking the 1 (root), 3, 5 and 7 of the F Major scale.
- The F Major 7 chord (just like all Major 7 chords) contains the following intervals (starting from the root note): major 3rd, minor 3rd, major 3rd, semitone (which leads back to the root note).
- The F Major 7 chord is the first chord in the key of F and the fourth chord in the key of C.
- The F Major 7 chord works well with the Dm7 chord (relative minor).
- The F Major scale and F Lydian mode can be used when soloing over the F Major 7 chord.
Further Reading
