# G Major 7th piano chord (Gmaj7)

Gmaj7 contains G, B, D and F♯. A major triad with the major seventh added on top. F♯ is a black key; G, B and D are white.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/major-7th/g/
- Entity: chord:major-7th:g
- Notes: G B D F♯
- Formula: 1 3 5 7
- Intervals from root: P1, M3, P5, M7
- Interval stack (semitones): 4 3 4
- Also written: Gmaj7, Gmaj7, G major 7th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | G | Perfect unison | 0 |
| 3 | B | Major third | 4 |
| 5 | D | Perfect fifth | 7 |
| 7 | F♯ | Major seventh | 11 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on G, finger 2 on B, finger 3 on D, finger 5 on F♯. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | G | G3 B3 D4 F♯4 | 7 | 11 st, 151 mm |
| First inversion (Gmaj7/B) | B | B3 D4 F♯4 G4 | 6/5 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Second inversion (Gmaj7/D) | D | D4 F♯4 G4 B4 | 4/3 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Third inversion (Gmaj7/F♯) | F♯ | F♯4 G4 B4 D5 | 4/2 | 8 st, 110 mm |

## Voicings (10)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | G3 B3 D4 F♯4 | 11 st, 151 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | B3 D4 F♯4 G4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | D4 F♯4 G4 B4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, third inversion | F♯4 G4 B4 D5 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 | D3 G3 B3 F♯4 | 16 st, 220 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 3 | B2 G3 D4 F♯4 | 19 st, 261 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 and 4 | G2 D3 B3 F♯4 | 23 st, 316 mm | identical | none |
| Shell, root 7 3 | G2 F♯3 B3 | 16 st, 220 mm | subset | omits D |
| Guide tones, 3 and 7 | B3 F♯4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits G and D |
| Rootless close | B3 D4 F♯4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits G |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| D major | IVmaj7 | Subdominant, away from home |
| E minor | ♭IIImaj7 | Relative-major color |
| G major | Imaj7 | Tonic, home |
| B minor | ♭VImaj7 | Pre-dominant color |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (9)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| IV, V, I | D major | IVmaj7 | Gmaj7 to A7 to Dmaj7 | Gmaj7 opens the phrase |
| I, IV | D major | IVmaj7 | Dmaj7 to Gmaj7 | 2 tones held from Dmaj7 |
| ♭III, ♭VI, ii, v | E minor | ♭IIImaj7 | Gmaj7 to Cmaj7 to F♯m7♭5 to Bm7 | Gmaj7 opens the phrase |
| i, ♭III | E minor | ♭IIImaj7 | Em7 to Gmaj7 | 3 tones held from Em7 |
| ii, V, I | G major | Imaj7 | Am7 to D7 to Gmaj7 | 2 tones held from D7 |
| IV, I | G major | Imaj7 | Cmaj7 to Gmaj7 | 2 tones held from Cmaj7 |
| I, vi, ii, V | G major | Imaj7 | Gmaj7 to Em7 to Am7 to D7 | Gmaj7 opens the phrase |
| ♭VI, iv, i, v | B minor | ♭VImaj7 | Gmaj7 to Em7 to Bm7 to F♯m7 | Gmaj7 opens the phrase |
| i, ♭VI | B minor | ♭VImaj7 | Bm7 to Gmaj7 | 3 tones held from Bm7 |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Gmaj9 | 1 3 5 7 9 | adds A | 4 |
| G | 1 3 5 | drops F♯ | 3 |
| G7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | F♯ becomes F | 3 |
| GmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | B becomes B♭ | 3 |
| G6 | 1 3 5 6 | F♯ becomes E | 3 |
| Gadd9 | 1 3 5 9 | F♯ becomes A | 3 |
| G9 | 1 3 5 ♭7 9 | F♯ becomes F, A | 3 |
| Gm | 1 ♭3 5 | B, F♯ becomes B♭ | 2 |
| Gaug | 1 3 ♯5 | D, F♯ becomes D♯ | 2 |
| Gsus2 | 1 2 5 | B, F♯ becomes A | 2 |
| Gsus4 | 1 4 5 | B, F♯ becomes C | 2 |
| Gm7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | B, F♯ becomes B♭, F | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {7, 11, 2, 6}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 4, 7, 11]
- Normal order: [6, 7, 11, 2]
- Prime form: (0158)
- Forte number: 4-20
- Interval vector: <101220>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| G3 | 55 | 196.00 Hz |
| B3 | 59 | 246.94 Hz |
| D4 | 62 | 293.66 Hz |
| F♯4 | 66 | 369.99 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in Gmaj7?

Gmaj7 contains G, B, D and F♯. The formula is 1, 3, 5, 7.

### How do you play Gmaj7 on piano?

Play G, B, D and F♯ together. Right hand fingers 1, 2, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 2, 1. F♯ is a black key; G, B and D are white.

### What are the inversions of Gmaj7?

4 positions: root position G B D F♯, Gmaj7/B, Gmaj7/D, Gmaj7/F♯.

### What keys contain Gmaj7?

4: IVmaj7 in D major, ♭IIImaj7 in E minor, Imaj7 in G major, ♭VImaj7 in B minor.

### What is the difference between Gmaj7 and Gmaj9?

Adds A. 4 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy Gmaj7 for small hands?

The guide tones, 3 and 7 voicing, B3 F♯4, spans 7 semitones or about 96 mm.

### What are the frequencies of Gmaj7?

From G3 at A440 in 12-TET: 196.00, 246.94, 293.66, 369.99 Hz.

### What is the set class of Gmaj7?

Prime form (0158), Forte 4-20, interval vector &lt;101220&gt;.

### How do I transpose Gmaj7 to another key?

Keep the 1, 3, 5, 7 formula on the new root. Cmaj7 is C, E, G, B; C♯maj7 is C♯, E♯, G♯, B♯.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:major-7th:g
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12