F#maj7 piano chord, F# major 7th notes and fingering.

The F#maj7 piano chord is F# major 7th: F#, A#, C# and E#. It is the F# major triad with the major seventh (E#) added on top, eleven semitones above the root and a single semitone below the next F#. Chord charts write it as F#maj7, F#Maj7 or F#M7.

How to play F#maj7 on piano

1. Find F# on the keyboard. F# is the first black key of the group of three, between F and G. It is the same key as Gb.
2. With your right hand, put finger 1 on F#, finger 2 on A#, finger 3 on C# and finger 5 on E#. Finger 1 is the thumb.
3. Press all four keys together. In root position they run from F#4 to E#5, a reach of 11 semitones. Play chord sounds them together and Arpeggio sounds them one by one, from the bottom up.
4. Click Left hand to see the left hand. It plays F#3 to E#4, one octave lower: F# with finger 5, A# with finger 3, C# with finger 2, E# with finger 1.
5. The cards under the keyboard hold the four positions, with F#, A#, C# and E# at the bottom in turn. Play and Arpeggio on a card play that position.
6. Open Note names. As written the keys read F#, A#, C# and E#. Sharps shows F#, A#, C# and F, and Flats shows Gb, Bb, Db and F. As written mixes sharps and flats on purpose, because each note takes its letter from its place in the chord.

How F#maj7 is built

Counted from the root, the formula is 0, 4, 7, 11. Stacked on each other the gaps are 4 + 3 + 4: a major third, a minor third and another major third. The seventh (E#) sits one semitone under the next F#, so the top and the root rub together very gently. That small clash gives the chord its soft, spacious sound.

Worked example: the pitch of F#4. On a piano tuned to A4 = 440 Hz, a note 3 semitones below A4 has the frequency 440 × 2^(-3/12), which is about 369.99 Hz. A#4 is 1 semitones above A4, so 440 × 2^(1/12) gives about 466.16 Hz.

F#maj7 and Gbmaj7 are the same chord on the keyboard: the same four keys sound for both. Written as Gbmaj7 it reads Gb, Bb, Db and F. The key of F# major has 6 sharps and the key of Gb major has 6 flats.

What the keys look like under your hand

The white keys beside F# are F on the left and G on the right, a semitone each way. Three of the four notes are black keys (F#, A# and C#) and one is a white key (E#). Your thumb lands on F#, a black key with F and G beside it. Keep the thumb relaxed and slightly curved, and let the wrist stay level instead of twisting to reach. Finger 2 presses A#, a black key between A and B. The middle fingers are the longest, so they reach black keys most easily. Finger 3 presses C#, a black key between C and D. The middle fingers are the longest, so they reach black keys most easily.

F#maj7 inversions and fingering

F#maj7 has four positions. In root position F# is at the bottom. In the first inversion, A# is at the bottom and the chord is written F#maj7/A#. In the second inversion, C# is at the bottom and the chord is written F#maj7/C#. In the third inversion, E# is at the bottom and the chord is written F#maj7/E#. The tightest reach, 8 semitones from the lowest key to the highest, is the first inversion and third inversion. The widest, at 11, is the root position.

The keys that hold F#maj7

F#maj7 fits four of the major and natural minor keys that have a standard key signature, which means every note of it comes from that key's scale. The simplest is F# major, with 6 sharps, where it is chord Imaj7.

Progressions that use F#maj7, with the chord numbers and the chords in that key:

• F# major: Imaj7-V7-vi7-IVmaj7, which is F#maj7, C#7, D#m7, Bmaj7, the four-chord loop heard in a great deal of pop.
• D# minor: i7-IIImaj7-VII7-iv7, which is D#m7, F#maj7, C#7, G#m7, a loop that climbs to III and VII.
• C# major: Imaj7-IVmaj7-V7-Imaj7, which is C#maj7, F#maj7, G#7, C#maj7, the three-chord cadence of folk, rock and blues.

Here is a worked example in F# major. The chord before F#maj7 in the first progression above is Bmaj7 (B, D#, F# and A#). From Bmaj7 in root position, the closest way to reach F#maj7 is its second inversion (C#, E#, F# and A#, lowest note first): two notes stay where they are, and the others move 4 semitones in total, counting each note against the note in the same place from the bottom.

Look at the top three notes of F#maj7: A#, C# and E# make a A# minor chord (A#, C# and E#). A major 7th is a minor triad with the root added underneath.

What F#maj7 sounds like

Major 7th chords sound soft, warm and a little dreamy. They are at home in jazz, soul, bossa nova, lo-fi and ballads, and they do not need to resolve the way a dominant 7th does, so they can sit at the end of a phrase.

F#maj7 is the Imaj7 chord in F# major, the IIImaj7 chord in D# minor and the IVmaj7 chord in C# major.

A common mistake with F#maj7

A common mistake is pressing E instead of E# on top, one semitone lower than the seventh of F#maj7. That gives F#7 (F#, A#, C# and E), a dominant 7th with a tense sound. The top note of F#maj7 should be the one right below the next F#.

Chords to learn next

Chords close to F#maj7: F# major (the same chord without the seventh; shares F#, A# and C#); F#7 (a flat seventh instead; shares F#, A# and C#); D#m7, listed as Ebm7 (shares three notes with it); F#m7 (a minor third instead; shares F# and C#).

Once F#maj7 feels easy, play it and then F#7 to hear what the flat seventh does. For chords beyond these six types, and for guitar and ukulele shapes, use the chord finder. To play along with your computer keys, open the virtual piano. The piano chords page lists all 72 chords.