FmMaj7 on ukulele

F, A♭, C and E · minor-major 7th · 4 shapes

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 7 · Sevenths.

FmMaj7

  1. F1
  2. A♭♭3
  3. C5
  4. E7

FmMaj7 is F, A♭, C and E.

FmMaj7 has four notes, and the ukulele has four strings to play them on. The rest of this page shows how a hand fits one to the other.

On the staff

FA♭CE

On a treble staff, FmMaj7 is written F, A♭, C and E.

The staff shows the notes one after the other, then together. Written this way the chord is in close position, which means each note sits as near to the one below it as the spelling allows. A guitar almost never plays a chord in close position.

FmMaj7 under a hand

FmMaj7root positionposition 10
10fr157♭3GCEA
157♭3C4C5C6

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds F, C, E and A♭, which are the degrees 1 5 7 ♭3 rather than the 1 ♭3 5 7 of the written chord. The root is the lowest note, so this grip is in root position and sounds the way the written chord suggests.

Between the strings you sound: P5M3M3

FmMaj7/A♭first inversionposition 1
♭3715GCEA
715♭3C3C4C5

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds A♭, E, F and C, which are the degrees ♭3 7 1 5 rather than the 1 ♭3 5 7 of the written chord. The lowest note is the ♭3 rather than the root, so this grip is in first inversion, written FmMaj7/A♭. It has the same notes as the root-position grip, but with A♭ in the bass it sounds different.

Between the strings you sound: m6m2P5

FmMaj7/Csecond inversionposition 4
4fr51♭37GCEA
517♭3C4C5C6

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds C, F, A♭ and E, which are the degrees 5 1 ♭3 7 rather than the 1 ♭3 5 7 of the written chord. The lowest note is the 5 rather than the root, so this grip is in second inversion, written FmMaj7/C. It has the same notes as the root-position grip, but with C in the bass it sounds different.

Between the strings you sound: P4m3m6

FmMaj7/Ethird inversionposition 8
8fr7♭351GCEA
751♭3C4C5C6

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds E, A♭, C and F, which are the degrees 7 ♭3 5 1 rather than the 1 ♭3 5 7 of the written chord. The lowest note is the 7 rather than the root, so this grip is in third inversion, written FmMaj7/E. It has the same notes as the root-position grip, but with E in the bass it sounds different.

Between the strings you sound: M3M3P4

Four shapes for FmMaj7 on ukulele: FmMaj7, FmMaj7/A♭, FmMaj7/C and FmMaj7/E.

Every grip here is FmMaj7, but no two of them sound alike. A chord with the root as its lowest note is in root position, and a chord with any other note at the bottom is an inversion. On a keyboard you choose the inversion you want, but on a neck the shape your hand can reach usually decides it for you.

F, A♭, C and E on the whole neck

GCEA123456789101112131415♭3571♭3571♭3571♭3571571♭35

This diagram marks every F, A♭, C and E on the first fifteen frets of the ukulele.

Every grip above is a handful of the notes on this diagram, and none of them uses a note that is not shown here.