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G major 7 chord

G major 7 Major 7 family

Soft, dreamy, a bit wistful.

Easiest shape1 of 4

Square: the root. In colour: the major 7th, which gives the chord its sound.

Change a finger and see what it becomes

Built from

Groot
Bmajor 3rd
D5th
F♯major 7th

The major 7th sits one fret below the root an octave up, a gentle clash that sounds lush rather than tense.

Tension: Gentle

Hear it in a progression

Smooth turnaround
Jazz and neo-soul, endlessly loopable. In G major.
Capo and transpose
Dreamy two-chord
Floating back and forth, no hurry. In G major.
Capo and transpose

Where it goes next

Thinking in G major, where it is the Imaj7 chord.

Cmaj7
IVmaj7. Lifts away from home without leaving it.
D7
V7. Builds tension that wants to come back.
Em7
vi7. Same key, sadder colour: the relative minor.
Am7
ii7. A gentle step up that sets up the V chord.

Sounds close

Em7
Relative minor 7: same notes but one. Both have G, B and D.
Bm7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have B, D and F♯.
Bm
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have B, D and F♯.
D
Shares 2 of its notes. Both have D and F♯.

Scales that fit

Notes you can play over this chord, simplest first.

Keys it lives in