F major seventh

Fmaj7

Also written FM7 · FΔ7 · · Fj7

NotesF · A · C · E
Formula1 · 3 · 5 · 7
F1A3C5E7
Root position

The major 7th: I of F major and IV of C major. The 7th sits a semitone under the octave, and that small rub is what makes it sound finished and unfinished at once. The ii–V–I that ends on it: Gm7C7 → Fmaj7.

How pianists voice Fmaj7

Nobody plays a jazz chord in root position. These are the shapes that actually get played — the same ones Cadenza shows when you play the chord.

Shell Left hand

F1A3E7

1 · 3 · 7 — root, 3rd and 7th: the three notes that say what the chord is. Left hand, low; everything else is colour.

Rootless A From the 3rd

A3C5E7G9

3 · 5 · 7 · 9 — no root: the bass player has it. The left-hand voicing of modern jazz piano. Without F underneath, the same keys read as Am7 — the bass turns them into Fmaj7.

Rootless B From the 7th

E7G9A3C5

7 · 9 · 3 · 5 — the other half of the pair. A and B alternate through a ii–V–I so the hand barely moves.

Drop 2 Two hands

C5F1A3E7

5 · 1 · 3 · 7 — close position with the second voice from the top dropped an octave: wider, warmer, the standard for chord melody.

Fmaj7 inversions

The same 4 notes with a different one in the bass. Each inversion is written as a slash chord.

Root position Fmaj7

F1A3C5E7

Root at the bottom, stacked in 3rds: 1 · 3 · 5 · 7.

1st inversion Fmaj7/A

A3C5E7F1

A (the 3) in the bass: 3 · 5 · 7 · 1.

2nd inversion Fmaj7/C

C5E7F1A3

C (the 5) in the bass: 5 · 7 · 1 · 3.

3rd inversion Fmaj7/E

E7F1A3C5

E (the 7) in the bass: 7 · 1 · 3 · 5.

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