How to Play Gmaj7 Chord on Guitar
In today's lesson, we'll go over 3 distinct ways to play the G major seventh chord, also written as Gmaj7 or GM7 for short.
The G 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 finger 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.
Gmaj7 Guitar Chord Open Position (Easy)
This voicing is a very similar fingering to the regular G major with a small change. To play, simply place your:
- Middle finger on the sixth string, third fret
- Index finger on fifth string, second fret
- Ring finger on first string, second fret
Gmaj7 played using Barre chords
The easiest G major seventh guitar chord played using a bar is as follows. Place your:
- First finger on fourth string, fifth fret
- Ring finger on third string, seventh fret
- Barre across strings 1 - 3 while you strum from the D string down
Avoid the low e string and A string when you strum and also make sure your thumb is in position so the high e string rings out. (see video)
Gmaj7 Barre Chord Shape 2
This next voicing will sound the most full as it uses all six strings. To play, place your:
- Middle finger on fourth string, 4th fret
- Ring finger on third string, 4th fret
- Index finger on sixth string, 3rd fret
- Pinky finger on the fifth string, 5th 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.
BONUS! How To Play Gmaj7 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, 5th fret
- Ring on 3rd string, 4th fret
- Middle on second string, 3rd fret
- First on 1st string, 2nd fret
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G Major 7th Chord Theory
Now, let’s break down the theory of the Gmaj7 chord so you can better understand how it's constructed and how to use it.
The G major seventh chord is built from the G major scale: G A B C D E F#
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
G A B C D E F#
The Gmaj7 Chord Formula
In music theory, chord formula refers to which notes of a scale are used to make the chord. The G major chord uses three notes which are the 1 3 5 of the scale. The Gmaj7 is a four note chord consisting of notes 1 3 5 7 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.
Gmaj7 Guitar Chord Inversions
The four notes of the 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 G note) is the lowest sounding note or bass note it is said to be in 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. Gmaj7/B. All this means is play the Gmaj7 chord but have the B note as the bass note.
How To Use G Major Seventh Chord
The G major seventh chord can be used to make a chord progression have a slightly more unique sound 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 D and G. The notes for D major are D F# A and for G major the notes are G B D. These chords already share one note (called a common tone) but if we turn G major into a G major 7th chord it would use notes G B D F# giving another common tone.
Chord Progressions Using Gmaj7 On Guitar:
Instead of D G C try D Gmaj7 A
Instead of G C D try G Gmaj7 C D
What Keys Use Gmaj7 Chord?
Gmaj7 works in the keys of:
Now you know a few ways to play the Gmaj7 chord and understand some Gmaj7 chord theory!
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