If you want to play Emaj7 on the mandolin, start with its notes: E, G#, B, D#. Its first mandolin voicing is a barre chord at fret 1: G string at fret 1 (index finger); D string at fret 1 (index finger); A string at fret 2 (middle finger); E string open. This is a major 7th chord, and the sections below take you from the notes table to real fingerings, common mistakes and the musical contexts where Emaj7 sounds right.
What notes are in the Emaj7 chord?
The Emaj7 chord is a major 7th chord, and its notes are fixed: E, G#, B, D#. Every voicing on every instrument uses these same notes, in some order and in some octave — change one of them and you are playing a different chord. The table below lists each note with its interval from the root E, so you can see the structure of Emaj7 at a glance. On the mandolin, the barre chord of Emaj7 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| E | Root |
| G# | 3 |
| B | 5 |
| D# | 7 |
The root is E, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in Emaj7 are 3, 5, 7. That combination is what makes Emaj7 sound the way it does: the intervals decide the colour, and the root decides the pitch. On the mandolin, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
Emaj7 sounds warm and open, the sound of jazz ballads and soft pop, where the major 7th colours rather than pulls. Listen for that character when you play it — if Emaj7 does not sound that way, one of the notes is probably wrong, and the table above is the place to check. On the mandolin, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, B, D# in Emaj7.
Comparing Emaj7 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, major 7th against dominant 7th: Emaj7 keeps the major 7th D#, while the dominant version flattens it to D. The major 7th sounds dreamy; the dominant 7th sounds restless. Hearing the comparison matters more than reading it: play Emaj7, then play the chord it is compared with above, and let your ear find the note that changed. On the mandolin, the barre chord of Emaj7 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
How to play Emaj7 on mandolin
On the mandolin, Emaj7 has 3 voicings in the data below, and each one uses the same notes — E, G#, B, D# — in a different place on the neck. There are 3 voicings listed for Emaj7 on the mandolin; learn the first, then add the others as you need them. Finger numbers below use 1 for the index finger, 2 for the middle finger, 3 for the ring finger and 4 for the little finger, and x means the string is not played.
For the barre chord, Emaj7 sits in open position: G string at fret 1 (index finger); D string at fret 1 (index finger); A string at fret 2 (middle finger); E string open. It barres across strings 1 to 2 at fret 1 with the index finger. The barre is the hard part: the index finger must press every string from 1 to 2 evenly at fret 1, so roll it slightly onto its bony side and keep it close to the fret wire. If the barre buzzes, move it a fraction closer to the fret and press from the arm, not the thumb alone. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Emaj7 — E, G#, B, D# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
The barre chord is the voicing to learn if you want Emaj7 in around fret 6: G string at fret 9 (middle finger); D string at fret 6 (index finger); A string at fret 6 (index finger); E string open. It barres across strings 2 to 3 at fret 6 with the index finger. The barre is the hard part: the index finger must press every string from 2 to 3 evenly at fret 6, so roll it slightly onto its bony side and keep it close to the fret wire. If the barre buzzes, move it a fraction closer to the fret and press from the arm, not the thumb alone. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Emaj7 — E, G#, B, D# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
For the barre chord, Emaj7 sits in open position: G string at fret 1 (index finger); D string at fret 1 (index finger); A string muted; E string open. It barres across strings 1 to 2 at fret 1 with the index finger. The barre is the hard part: the index finger must press every string from 1 to 2 evenly at fret 1, so roll it slightly onto its bony side and keep it close to the fret wire. If the barre buzzes, move it a fraction closer to the fret and press from the arm, not the thumb alone. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Emaj7 — E, G#, B, D# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Choosing between the voicings of Emaj7 is a musical decision, not a right-or-wrong one. The open or low-position voicing rings the most and suits strumming, while a barre or movable voicing lets you slide Emaj7 up the neck to any key without changing the shape. When you change chords, pick the voicing of Emaj7 that sits closest to the chord before it — shorter moves between shapes mean faster, cleaner changes. Practise the change into Emaj7 from the chord that comes before it in your song, not the chord on its own, because the move is the skill. On the mandolin, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, B, D# in Emaj7.
A short practice routine for Emaj7 on the mandolin: play the first voicing four times slowly, checking each note, then change to it from the chord a fourth above E and back, four times, at a slow tempo. Then play the second voicing the same way. If a note buzzes, stop and fix the finger placement rather than playing through the buzz — clean notes at a slow tempo become clean notes at full tempo, while buzzes practised fast become habits. Use the Mandolin Chord Finder to see the diagram for Emaj7 while you practise, and the Chord Finder to compare it with the same chord on other instruments.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make Emaj7 sound wrong on the mandolin, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Using it as a dominant. Emaj7 does not pull to a tonic the way a dominant 7th does. If you need a V chord, use the dominant 7th instead. On the mandolin, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, B, D# in Emaj7.
Missing one string of a course. Mandolin strings come in pairs, and Emaj7 needs both strings of each course to sound. If one string of a pair is muted by a neighbouring finger, the chord sounds thin. Check each course separately by plucking it on its own. On the mandolin, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, B, D# in Emaj7.
Flattening the 7th. If D# slips down to D you have the dominant 7th, a different chord with a different job. Check the 7th note carefully — it sits a semitone below the root. On the mandolin, the barre chord of Emaj7 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Clashing the 7th against the root. The major 7th is a semitone below the root, so voicings that put them next to each other in the same octave can sound harsh. Spread the notes out across octaves. On the mandolin, the barre chord of Emaj7 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Where Emaj7 is used
Emaj7 is not a diatonic triad in any major or minor key, because it is an extended or altered chord, but its base triad belongs to the key of E major, the key of A major, the key of B major. the I or IV chord in major keys, adding warmth to progressions that would otherwise sound plain. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward A major, the key a perfect fourth above E, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where Emaj7 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the mandolin, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, B, D# in Emaj7.
Because Emaj7 is an extended or altered chord, it appears in progressions as a colour or a dominant rather than as a diatonic staple. Try it in place of the plain E triad in a progression you already know, and listen to how the extra notes change the feel — that substitution is the usual way extended chords enter real music. The Chord Progression Builder lets you try Emaj7 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the mandolin, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, B, D# in Emaj7.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in Emaj7 on guitar, Emaj7 on piano, Emaj7 on ukulele, and the scales that fit over it are the E major scale and the E minor pentatonic scale. Learning Emaj7 on the mandolin and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — E, G#, B, D# — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising Emaj7
A short worked example makes Emaj7 concrete. Play the four-chord progression A – E – F#m – D in A major, the key Emaj7 most often resolves toward: A – E – F#m – D. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how Emaj7 sounds in that sequence — whether it feels like home, like a lift, or like a chord on its way somewhere else. Then play the same four chords in a different order, starting on Emaj7 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the mandolin, the barre chord voicing is the place to hear it in Emaj7.
For a second exercise, play Emaj7 and then the chord a fourth above E, back and forth, four times each. That move — a chord and the chord a fourth above it — is the most common resolution in Western music, and it is the move Emaj7 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing Emaj7 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: E, G#, B, D#. Naming the notes while you play them is what turns a shape into knowledge you can use in any key. Test yourself with the Practice Chord Quiz and keep time with the Metronome as the tempo rises. On the mandolin, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, B, D# in Emaj7.
Frequently asked questions
What is the easiest voicing of Emaj7 on the mandolin?
The barre chord is the easiest voicing listed for Emaj7 on the mandolin: frets 1–1–2–0, fingers 1–1–2–0. Learn that shape first, get every note ringing cleanly, and only then move on to the alternative voicings further up the neck.
Is Emaj7 a major chord?
Yes — Emaj7 is a major 7th chord, built on a major triad (E, G#, B) with the major 7th D# added. It sounds major, but with a dreamy, jazzy colour the plain triad does not have. On the mandolin, the voicings above put that note under your fingers.
What is the difference between Emaj7 and E7?
Emaj7 uses the major 7th D#; E7 uses the flattened 7th D. Emaj7 sounds settled and shimmering, E7 sounds bluesy and wants to resolve. On the mandolin, the voicings above put that note under your fingers.
Where is Emaj7 used?
Emaj7 is most at home as a tonic chord in jazz, bossa nova and soft pop, and as the IV chord in major keys. It suits slow tempos and open voicings where its shimmer has room to breathe. On the mandolin, the voicings above put that note under your fingers.
How do you play Emaj7 on the mandolin?
The first voicing is the barre chord: frets 1–1–2–0, fingers 1–1–2–0, on the mandolin. That voicing uses the notes E, G#, B, D#, and it is the one to learn first. The page above lists more voicings for Emaj7, so you can choose the shape nearest the chords around it.