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The F#maj7 chord

Start with the recipe. The notes are F# - A# - C# - F, a major seventh, otherwise known as the F#maj7. The chord feels the lo-fi producer's favourite, which is why writers chasing lo-fi atmosphere keep landing on it. You will find it inside the standards repertoire and most singer-songwriter cycles. The rest of this page lays out the common voicings, the interval theory, the progressions where the chord fits, and the records that lean on it for structural work.

Hear the F#maj7 in the chord builder →

Voicings for F#maj7

Common ways to grip the F#maj7 on guitar and piano. Guitar diagrams read low E to high E left-to-right; an × means muted, an open circle above the nut means an open string. Filled dots are fretted notes.

Guitar , full chord shapes

CAGED-derived voicings for F#maj7 across the neck. Pick the shape closest to where your hand already sits.

Guitar: Emaj7 shape at fr.2

Notes: F# - A# - C# - F (chord tones)

Guitar: Amaj7 shape at fr.9

Notes: F# - A# - C# - F (chord tones)

Guitar: Dmaj7 shape at fr.4

Notes: F# - A# - C# - F (chord tones)

Guitar: Cmaj7 shape at fr.6

Notes: F# - A# - C# - F (chord tones)

Guitar: Gmaj7 shape at fr.11

Notes: F# - A# - C# - F (chord tones)

Guitar: top-4 voicing

Notes: F# - A# - C# - F (chord tones)

Guitar: high top-4 voicing

Notes: F# - A# - C# - F (chord tones)

Guitar , triad shapes

Three-note triad shapes on each string set, shown moving up the neck. Light textures for arpeggios, pop layering and chord-melody work.

Triad: top strings (G-B-e) · fr.1

Notes: top-string triad, fr.1

Triad: top strings (G-B-e) · fr.6

Notes: top-string triad, fr.6

Triad: top strings (G-B-e) · fr.9

Notes: top-string triad, fr.9

Triad: middle strings (D-G-B) · fr.2

Notes: middle-string triad, fr.2

Triad: middle strings (D-G-B) · fr.6

Notes: middle-string triad, fr.6

Triad: middle strings (D-G-B) · fr.10

Notes: middle-string triad, fr.10

Triad: bass strings (A-D-G) · fr.3

Notes: bass-side triad, fr.3

Triad: bass strings (A-D-G) · fr.6

Notes: bass-side triad, fr.6

Triad: bass strings (A-D-G) · fr.10

Notes: bass-side triad, fr.10

Piano voicings

Root position and inversions. The bass note matters: each inversion changes how the chord sits under a melody.

Piano: root position

Notes: F# - A# - C# - F. Root F# at the bottom. The classic stacked-thirds spelling of a major seventh.

Piano: first inversion

Notes: A# - C# - F - F#. A# at the bottom. Common in chord-melody, walking bass lines and gentler voicings.

Piano: second inversion

Notes: C# - F - F# - A#. C# at the bottom. A floating, suspended feel often used in hymns and ballads.

Piano: third inversion

Notes: F - F# - A# - C#. F at the bottom. The seventh in the bass , a smooth jazz favourite.

The theory behind F#maj7

F#maj7 is a major seventh built on F#. Its three or four notes (F# - A# - C# - F) sit a specific distance apart: root, major third, perfect fifth, major seventh. That makes it a passing chord in the key of a closely related major key, and the same chord works as the passing chord in a closely related major key. The simplest rule of thumb: the F#maj7 wants to stay home, or relax sideways to the vi.

Progressions that use F#maj7

Short progressions that put the F#maj7 to work. Each one is shown in a different key so you can pick the one that suits your singer.

I→IV→V key of C major

F#maj7 (as passing colour)

This chord appears as a borrowed or passing chord in many major-key progressions.

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Songs that feature F#maj7

Real records where this chord does structural work. No lyrics quoted, just the title and artist so you can pull up a copy and hear it in context.

Related chords

Chords a step away from the F#maj7 in the songwriting circle, the natural neighbours when you want a substitution.

TriadF# DomF#7 m7F#m7 NeighbourC#m NeighbourB NeighbourBm NeighbourB7

Keys where F#maj7 lives

The keys where this chord turns up diatonically. Open any key page for the full set of progressions that lean on it.

C major A minor

Related references

Other ways to put the F#maj7 to work across the reference library.

Arpeggiooutline it with arpeggios

More songwriting tools

Got the chord but still wrestling with the lyric? Find the right rhyme in RhymeForge, or break a writer's block with the unexpected word-pair generator in CollisionLab. Need to map a full progression? The chord builder on the home page is where the F#maj7 fits into context. All free, no signup.

About the chord builder

The Undercover Zest chord progression builder is a free interactive tool that maps every diatonic and borrowed chord in every key. Click a Roman numeral to hear it, drag chords into a progression, then audition voicings, inversions and tensions until the song clicks.

This page is a static reference for the F#maj7. For interactive playback, voice-leading hints and substitution suggestions, open the chord builder above.