Piano chord · Major 7th
F major 7th piano chord (Fmaj7)
F, A, C and E, played together. Root position is highlighted on the keyboard below — press play to hear it.
Notes in Fmaj7: F, A, C and E
| Note | Interval from the root | Key around middle C |
|---|---|---|
| F | Root | F4 · white key |
| A | Major 3rd | A4 · white key |
| C | Perfect 5th | C5 · white key |
| E | Major 7th | E5 · white key |
- Chord symbol: Fmaj7 — F major 7th
- Formula: R · 3 · 5 · 7 (0 · 4 · 7 · 11 semitones from the root)
- Right hand fingering: 1-2-3-5 — thumb, index, middle and little finger
- Left hand fingering: 5-3-2-1, little finger on the root
How Fmaj7 works
Fmaj7 is the IV chord of C with its 7th added, and the chord that makes a C–F progression sound like a ballad. Like Cmaj7 it is all white keys; its top note, E, is the same pitch the guitar's open high string adds in its Fmaj7 shape.
Fmaj7 inversions
An inversion keeps the same notes and changes which one is at the bottom. That matters because it lets you move between chords without jumping: the closer the notes of the next chord are to the ones your hand is already holding, the smoother it sounds and the easier it is to play. Root position first, then three inversions.
Root position
F–A–C–E — the root, F, is at the bottom.
1st inversion — A in the bass
A–C–E–F — the same four notes, reordered so A is lowest.
2nd inversion — C in the bass
C–E–F–A — the same four notes, reordered so C is lowest.
3rd inversion — E in the bass
E–F–A–C — the same four notes, reordered so E is lowest.
Common mistakes on Fmaj7
- Reaching F to E with the thumb and little finger when the hand is small — play F with the left hand and A–C–E in the right.
- Letting the E drop out. Without it the chord is plain F major, and the color is gone.
Piano 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.