Bmaj7

Bmaj7 is B, D#, F# and A#, a major seventh. The shape this page opens on is written x24342, lowest string first.

Note by note. B is the root, D# is the major third, F# is the fifth and A# is the major seventh.

Also written BM7, BΔ7, BΔ, Bma7 or B major 7. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.

There are 7 common shapes for Bmaj7 on the guitar, and 28 derived voicings in 3 families.

One note away. Change a single note of Bmaj7 and you have B (with one note taken away), Bmaj7b5 (with one note moved), Bmaj7#5 (with one note moved), Bmaj9 (with one note added), BmMaj7 (with one note moved) or Badd9 (with one note moved).

In which keys. Every note of Bmaj7 belongs to Eb minor (the ♭VI), F# major (the IV), Ab minor (the ♭III) and B major (the I).

The common shapes, written lowest string first: x24342, xxx446, xx4446, 798877, x-x-9-11-11-11, x-14-13-11-11-11, x-14-13-15-12-x.

Under the hand. None of the shapes for Bmaj7 uses an open string, so every one of them is movable; the lowest sits at the 2nd fret. 4 of the 7 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 2nd fret to the 15th.

Shell. Root, third and seventh: the guide tones fix the quality, so the fifth is dropped. That is what leaves a string free, so pick a tension to put on top. Bmaj7 has x213xx, 768xxx, x-14-13-15-x-x, x2x34x, 7x88xx.

Drop 2. A close-position chord with the second voice from the top lowered an octave. Sits on four adjacent strings. Bmaj7 has 2213xx, xx1302, x2434x, xx4446, 6644xx, xx8877, 7988xx, x-x-9-11-11-11.

Drop 3. The third voice from the top lowered an octave. The dropped voice becomes the bass, which is why a string is skipped. Bmaj7 has 2x130x, x2x342, x6x476, 6x444x, x-9-x-8-11-7, 7x887x, 11-x-9-11-11-x, x-13-x-11-12-11.

Tensions. A shell of Bmaj7, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the 9 (C#), the #11 (E#) and the 13 (G#).

What kind of chord this is. Bmaj7 is a major chord — root, major third, fifth. major chords on every root, and what they are for.

The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.