Emaj7 guitar chord

Emaj7 (E major seventh) is built from E, G#, B and D#, the degrees 1–3–5–7. On guitar, the main shape is 0 2 1 1 0 0, the first diagram, marked with the star.

You know the hotel-lobby pianist, playing so nobody leaves? This is their chord. Emaj7 is your regular E with the window open — same house, more air. Tap the player below and notice how it asks you to stay.

Hear Emaj7 before you play

Why Emaj7 sounds this way

Here's the curious part: D#, the new note, lives a half step from E — that close, it should grind. And it does. But G# and B hold the room, so the grind turns into shimmer instead of a fight. Play the arpeggio again, no rush all the way to the last note and wait: you'll feel the spark without the fire. It's danger with a seatbelt on — which is why it sounds expensive.

How to play Emaj7 on guitar

On the guitar, six strings give the chord room to breathe — some positions use them all, others ask you to mute the lowest ones. So go with the first position below — 3 open strings as a bonus; it's the main shape — that's why it carries the ⭐. Then do the before-and-after: E, then Emaj7. The second is the first one after sunset. Run it a few times: this chord tends to feel odd on the first pass and addictive by the third.

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The mid-neck positions are the favorites of anyone backing a singer: up there, a maj7 turns into carpet. File that away for the day you play with someone.

Emaj7 notes and degrees

Emaj7 stacks the root E, the major third G#, the perfect fifth B and the major seventh D#.

Where Emaj7 shows up

Across keys, Emaj7 works as IIImaj7 in C# minor, Imaj7 in E major, VImaj7 in G# minor — almost always the deluxe I or the elegant IV. It was bossa nova's signature and became the world's: today it shows up from jazz to indie without asking permission.

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Where Emaj7 usually goes

Treating Emaj7 as the home chord (I) of its key, it tends to go toward the pre-dominant (F#m / A) or the dominant (B / D#°), and the dominant pulls back home. It's a tendency, not a law.

Going beyond Emaj7

For improvising, E Ionian (E F# G# A B C# D# · 1 2 3 4 5 6 7: the plain major scale, where everything starts); E Lydian (E F# G# A# B C# D# · 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7: the major scale with a raised fourth — one extra step of daydream); E Lydian ♯2 (E F## G# A# B C# D# · 1 #2 3 #4 5 6 7: a lydian with a raised second, harmonic-major color) wrap the whole chord. And the jazz shapes at the end are the same four notes spread across the neck, for the day you want to sound like an arranger.

Scales to improvise over Emaj7

To improvise over Emaj7 as home, the E Ionian scale fits entirely: it contains every note of the chord. The best fit depends on the key, the surrounding chords and the tensions you want. And when the dominant (B) pulls back, the leading tone Eb is the note that wants to resolve home.

Swaps that work:

• C#m7C#m7C#m7C#m7 — Relative minor (vi) — same tonic function
• G#m7G#m7G#m7G#m7 — Mediant (iii) — tonic function

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Emaj7 jazz voicings

Jazz Lab: Drop 2 voicings in any key, free; drop 3 and shell are part of Pro · use it in Chord and Fret

And when the song wants solid ground again, the way back is short: plain E. Drop the seventh, close the window — the house is still there.

Updated October 20, 2026