How To Play Bmaj7 Chord on Guitar
In today's lesson, we'll go over 3 distinct ways to play the B major seventh chord, also written as Bmaj7 or BM7 for short.
The B major 7th chord is a major chord with a little extra sauce that helps give it a unique sound, and that special sauce is where the number 7 comes from.
In this article, we'll discover common positions, voicings, and recommend finger placements, each with its chord diagram and later, we'll also discuss chord theory, how it gets its name, and how to use it, etc.
Bmaj7 Played Using Barre Chords
Due to the notes that make the Bmaj7 chord, there isn't an open position. However, this first guitar chord is relatively easy.
Bmaj7 Barre Chord Shape 1
To play, place your:
- First finger on fourth string, 9th fret
- Ring finger on third string, 11th fret
- Barre across strings 1 - 3 while you strum from the D string
Bmaj7 Barre Chord Shape 2
This next voicing will sound the most full as it uses all the strings. To play, place your:
- Middle finger on fourth string, 8th fret
- Ring finger on third string, 8th fret
- Index finger on sixth string, 7th fret
- Pinky finger on the fifth string, 9th fret
This shape may take more practice to get your hand to work right so all notes ring out. See the video for tips on technique.
This next version for B major 7th shown below is also a common barre chord shape for a major seventh guitar chord. To play, place your:
- Second finger on third string, second fret
- Third finger on 4th string, 4th fret
- Pinky finger on 2nd string, 4th fret
- First finger on 5th string, second fret
- Barre using your first finger
BONUS! How To Play B Major Seventh Guitar Chord Without Barre
While all barre chords are moveable chords, not all moveable guitar chords are barre chords. This voicing is going to be a bit of a stretch, so make sure your thumb is in the correct position. Place your:
- Pinky on 4th string, 9th fret
- Ring on 3rd string, 8th fret
- Middle on second string, 7th fret
- First finger on 1st string, 6th fret
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B major 7th Chord Theory
Now, let’s break down the theory of the Bmaj7 chord so you can better understand how it is constructed and how to use it.
The B major seventh chord is a four note chord built from the B major scale: B C# D# E F# G# A#
To understand the chord formula, you need to understand "scale degrees," which is simply numbering the notes of a scale starting with the root note.
Often, music teachers reference piano note names due to the simplicity of the layout of a piano for scales, but I think the illustration below will do:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
B C# D# E F# G# A#
The Bmaj7 Chord Formula
In music theory, chord formula refers to which notes of a scale are used to make the chord. The B major chord uses three notes, the 1 3 5 of the scale. The Bmaj7 uses four notes using the 1 3 5 7 notes of the scale.
You may also hear these notes explained using intervals such as the root, major third, perfect fifth, and major seventh. That is another layer deeper in the theory and can cause some confusion. We’ll have that discussion in another lesson.
Bmaj7 Guitar Chord Inversions
The notes of a chord can be in any order so long as you have at least one of each of these notes. When the root note (in this case, the B note) is the lowest sounding note or bass note it is said to be in the root position.
When the root note is not the bass note it would be called an inversion and written as a slash chord. e.g. Bmaj7/F#. All this means is play the Bmaj7 chord but have the F# note as the bass note.
How To Use B Major Seventh Chord
The B major seventh chord can be used to make a chord progression have a slightly more unique tone than just a typical progression that uses major chords and minor chords. You can also use these guitar chords for voice leading to help the music flow a bit more naturally.
For example, let’s use F# and B. The notes for F# major are F# A# and C# and for B major the notes are B D# and F#. These chords already share one note (called a common tone), but if we turn B major into a B major 7th chord, it would use notes B D# F# A# giving another common tone.
Chord Progressions Using Bmaj7 On Guitar
Instead of F#- B- C# try F#- Bmaj7- C#7
Try B- Bmaj7 -E -F#
What Keys Use Bmaj 7th
Bmaj7 works in the key of:
- B major
- F# major
- G#m
- D#m
Now you know a few ways to play the Bmaj7 chord and understand some Bmaj7 chord theory!
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