Guitar chords · Major 7th
Gmaj7 chord on guitar
Gmaj7 (G major 7th) has four notes: G, B, D and F♯, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., 3, 5 and 7.
Shapes
How to play Gmaj7
Strum a shape to hear it, or pick it one string at a time. R marks the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7.; the other numbers are the chord tones.
Gmaj7 has an A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., and two A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major.: the E shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 3 and the A shape at fret 10. A movable shape keeps its fingering anywhere on the neck: slide it up or down and the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., on the lowest played string, names the chord.
Open
E shape · fret 3
A shape · fret 10
Notes and formula
What makes Gmaj7 major 7th
A major A triad with one more 3rd on top, the 7th, which makes four notes: G7, Cmaj7 and Am7 are seventh chords. adds the note a The smallest distance in Western music: one fret on the guitar, such as E to F or F to F♯. below the The distance of twelve half steps, where a note comes round to the same name. Twelve frets up a string is an octave. to a major chord. It sounds soft, open and a little dreamy, at home in jazz, bossa nova and soul.
- 1Root: the note the chord is named after. Keep it.
- 3Essential: makes the chord what it is. Never drop it.
- 5Optional: drop it first when you run out of fingers.
The 3rd and the 7th make Gmaj7 a major A triad with one more 3rd on top, the 7th, which makes four notes: G7, Cmaj7 and Am7 are seventh chords.; you can leave out the 5th.
- GRroot
- B3essential
- D5optional
- F♯7essential
- G, the root
- Other chord tones
Keys
Keys with Gmaj7
Gmaj7 belongs to four keys: G major (Imaj7), D major (IVmaj7), E minor (IIImaj7) and B minor (VImaj7).
Numerals follow the key's own scale, so III, VI and VII in a minor key are its own major chords. A ♭ or ♯ in front marks a chord from outside the key. How Roman numerals work
Progressions
Progressions with Gmaj7
Common progressions that use Gmaj7, each in a key that spells it Gmaj7. The outlined chord is Gmaj7.
Jazz ii–V–I in G major
ii7 – V7 – Imaj7
- Am7
- D7
- Gmaj7
Each chord falls a fifth to the next — a walk anticlockwise around the circle.
Heard in Autumn Leaves, Fly Me to the Moon
Slash chords
Gmaj7 over another bass note
A A chord with a different note in the bass, written after a slash: C/E is a C chord with E as its lowest note. The letter after the slash is the bass. keeps Gmaj7 on top and puts another note in the bass: the letter after the slash is the lowest note you play.
- Gmaj7/B
Gmaj7 with its 3rd, B, in the bass: the first inversion.
- Gmaj7/D
Gmaj7 with its 5th, D, in the bass: the second inversion.
- Gmaj7/F♯
Gmaj7 with its 7th, F♯, in the bass: the third inversion.
Same root
Other chords on G
Change one or two notes and the same The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7. gives a different colour. Compare them by ear.
- G major
- Gm minor
- G7 dominant 7th
- Gm7 minor 7th
- Gsus2 suspended 2nd
- Gsus4 suspended 4th
- G6 major 6th
- Gm6 minor 6th
- Gadd9 add 9
- G9 dominant 9th
- Gmaj9 major 9th
- Gm9 minor 9th
- G13 dominant 13th
- Gmaj13 major 13th
- Gm11 minor 11th
- G° diminished
- Gm7♭5 half-diminished 7th
- G°7 diminished 7th
- G+ augmented
- G5 power chord
- G7sus4 dominant 7th suspended 4th
- Gm(maj7) minor major 7th
- G6/9 six-nine
- Gm(add9) minor add 9
- G7♯9 dominant 7th sharp 9th
Questions
Gmaj7, in short
- What notes are in the Gmaj7 chord?
- Gmaj7 (G major 7th) has four notes: G, B, D and F♯, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., 3, 5 and 7.
- How do you play Gmaj7 on guitar?
- Gmaj7 has an A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., and two A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major.: the E shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 3 and the A shape at fret 10.
- What key is Gmaj7 in?
- Gmaj7 belongs to four keys: G major (Imaj7), D major (IVmaj7), E minor (IIImaj7) and B minor (VImaj7).