Sevenths
A♯ major 7th chord
Lush and mellow — a signature sound of jazz, soul and bossa nova.
A♯maj7 is the Imaj7 chord in B♭ major and IVmaj7 in F major. In minor keys: IIImaj7 in G minor and VImaj7 in D minor.
- Notes
- A♯C𝄪E♯G𝄪
- Formula
- 1357
- Built from
- root · major 3rd · perfect 5th · major 7th
How to play A♯maj7
About the A♯ major 7th chord
Playing it
On guitar, A♯maj7 is most often played as a barre chord across the 1st fret (x13231).
On piano, A♯maj7 has one black key (A♯) and three white keys.
On ukulele the usual A♯maj7 shape is 3210, using three fingers.
Related chords
Take away the root and the other three notes form C𝄪m (C𝄪 E♯ G𝄪) — so you can think of A♯maj7 as C𝄪m with A♯ added underneath.
Move a single note and A♯maj7 becomes a different chord: drop the G𝄪 for A♯, lower G𝄪 to G♯ for A♯7, swap G𝄪 for F𝄪 for A♯6 and swap G𝄪 for B♯ for A♯add9.
Where you’ll hear it
You’ll find A♯maj7 in common progressions such as Cm7–F7–B♭maj7 (the jazz cadence in B♭ major).
Notice the C𝄪 in A♯maj7 (A♯ C𝄪 E♯ G𝄪): each note of the chord takes its own letter (A–C–E–G), so the major 3rd has to be written C𝄪 rather than D — the same key on a piano, spelled to fit the chord.
