Guitar chord · Open shape · Standard tuning
F major 7 guitar chord (Fmaj7)
Place finger 3 on the 3rd fret of the D, finger 2 on the 2nd fret of the G, finger 1 on the 1st fret of the B. Don't play the low E or A strings.
F – A – C – E
Loop strum: down, down-up, up-down-up on 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &.
Next moves
3 fingers, 4 strings, chart notation xx3210. Tap the chord box to hear it strummed, then play it string by string to check every note is ringing cleanly.
How to play Fmaj7
Finger numbers run 1 for the index to 4 for the little finger. String names are given as players say them — the low E is the thickest string (the 6th) and the high E is the thinnest (the 1st).
- 1st finger (index) — 1st fret, B string
- 2nd finger (middle) — 2nd fret, G string
- 3rd finger (ring) — 3rd fret, D string
- Play open: high E (1st) — strum it without fretting anything.
- Leave out: low E (6th) and A (5th) — start the strum below them, or damp them with the side of the thumb.
| String | Fret | Finger | Note it sounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6th — low E | Not played | — | × |
| 5th — A | Not played | — | × |
| 4th — D | 3rd fret | 3 (ring) | F |
| 3rd — G | 2nd fret | 2 (middle) | A |
| 2nd — B | 1st fret | 1 (index) | C |
| 1st — high E | Open | — | E |
Notes and intervals in Fmaj7
Fmaj7 is built from 4 notes: F, A, C and E.
- F — the root
- A — the major 3rd
- C — the perfect 5th
- E — the major 7th
Across the six strings the shape sounds F · A · C · E from low to high, so some notes are doubled in different octaves — that is what gives an open guitar chord its width compared with the same chord on a keyboard.
What Fmaj7 is used for
Fmaj7 is the F barre with its awkward parts removed: four strings, three fingers stepping down a neat diagonal, and the open high E supplying the major 7th. It stands in for F in the key of C most of the time and gives a progression a soft, unresolved color instead of the plain landing a straight F provides.
Common mistakes with Fmaj7
- Strumming the bottom two strings. Fmaj7 starts at the D string; the 5th and 6th add notes that blur the major 7th.
- Muting the open high E. That open string is the major 7th, and without it the chord loses the whole reason you chose it.
- Treating it as a straight replacement for F everywhere. In louder, plainer playing the barred F carries better; Fmaj7 is the gentler option, not the easy way out.
A first strum pattern
Count “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &” — eighth notes (quavers). Strum down, down-up, up-down-up: down on 1, down on 2, up on the “&” of 2, up on the “&” of 3, down on 4, up on the “&” of 4. Keep your hand moving down and up all the time, and only touch the strings on the marked counts.
Start the strum loop above at 60–70 BPM and change chords on beat 1.
F major 7 FAQ
How do you play F major 7 on guitar?
Place finger 3 on the 3rd fret of the D, finger 2 on the 2nd fret of the G, finger 1 on the 1st fret of the B. Don't play the low E or A strings. In chart notation it is xx3210, low E string first.
What notes are in F major 7?
F, A, C and E: the root, the major 3rd, the perfect 5th and the major 7th.
What chord comes after F major 7?
Common changes from F major 7: G major and G dominant 7. Practice the switch slowly with the strum loop, then speed it up.
Guitar chord data last updated . Every diagram here, in the printable PDF and in the chart image comes from one dataset, so the paper and the screen cannot disagree.