Guitar chords · Major 7th
Amaj7 chord on guitar
Amaj7 (A major 7th) has four notes: A, C♯, E and G♯, 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 Amaj7
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.
Amaj7 has an A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., and one 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. 5. 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 5
Notes and formula
What makes Amaj7 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 Amaj7 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.
- ARroot
- C♯3essential
- E5optional
- G♯7essential
- A, the root
- Other chord tones
Keys
Keys with Amaj7
Amaj7 belongs to four keys: A major (Imaj7), E major (IVmaj7), F♯ minor (IIImaj7) and C♯ 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 Amaj7
Common progressions that use Amaj7, each in a key that spells it Amaj7. The outlined chord is Amaj7.
Jazz ii–V–I in A major
ii7 – V7 – Imaj7
- Bm7
- E7
- Amaj7
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
Amaj7 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 Amaj7 on top and puts another note in the bass: the letter after the slash is the lowest note you play.
- Amaj7/C♯
Amaj7 with its 3rd, C♯, in the bass: the first inversion.
- Amaj7/E
Amaj7 with its 5th, E, in the bass: the second inversion.
- Amaj7/G♯
Amaj7 with its 7th, G♯, in the bass: the third inversion.
Same root
Other chords on A
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.
- A major
- Am minor
- A7 dominant 7th
- Am7 minor 7th
- Asus2 suspended 2nd
- Asus4 suspended 4th
- A6 major 6th
- Am6 minor 6th
- Aadd9 add 9
- A9 dominant 9th
- Amaj9 major 9th
- Am9 minor 9th
- A13 dominant 13th
- Amaj13 major 13th
- Am11 minor 11th
- A° diminished
- Am7♭5 half-diminished 7th
- A°7 diminished 7th
- A+ augmented
- A5 power chord
- A7sus4 dominant 7th suspended 4th
- Am(maj7) minor major 7th
- A6/9 six-nine
- Am(add9) minor add 9
- A7♯9 dominant 7th sharp 9th
Questions
Amaj7, in short
- What notes are in the Amaj7 chord?
- Amaj7 (A major 7th) has four notes: A, C♯, E and G♯, 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 Amaj7 on guitar?
- Amaj7 has an A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., and one 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. 5.
- What key is Amaj7 in?
- Amaj7 belongs to four keys: A major (Imaj7), E major (IVmaj7), F♯ minor (IIImaj7) and C♯ minor (VImaj7).