Fmaj7, the F major 7 guitar chord
Fmaj7 has no open shape behind it. Your index lies at a slant: it presses the low E at the 1st fret and lands on the nut at the other end, so the high E rings open. The A string stays silent. Both the D string and the open high E sound the major 7th, which is what makes the chord float instead of land. Señorita and Like a Rolling Stone use it. Check the low E rings, because that end of the slant is the one that slips.
How to play it
- Index finger on the low E string (6th), 1st fret.
- Middle finger on the B string (2nd), 1st fret.
- Ring finger on the D string (4th), 2nd fret.
- Pinky on the G string (3rd), 2nd fret.
- Let the open high E string (1st) ring.
- Don't strum the A string (5th). It stays silent in this shape.
Changes to practice
Holding Fmaj7 still is the easy part. Songs need you to arrive at it in rhythm, so in Strumhold you practice Fmaj7 as changes, alongside the rest of the Barre Major 7ths set:
- Fmaj7 ↔ B♭maj7 F major 7 to B♭ major 7 Drill
- Fmaj7 ↔ C♯maj7 F major 7 to C♯ major 7 Drill
- Fmaj7 ↔ E♭maj7 F major 7 to E♭ major 7 Drill
- Fmaj7 ↔ Bmaj7 F major 7 to B major 7 Drill
- Fmaj7 ↔ Emaj7 F major 7 to E major 7 Drill
- Fmaj7 ↔ A♭maj7 F major 7 to A♭ major 7 Drill
- Fmaj7 ↔ F♯maj7 F major 7 to F♯ major 7 Drill