Emaj7

Rllink

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I guess that I don't understand what the distinction is between a major chord, and a maj chord. I mean, there is an E7, and then there is an Emaj7. What is the distinction between the two? Are they not the same chord?
 
No, Rollie, they're not the same. E is a major chord (and a finger buster, I might add). One plays it 4,4,4,2. EMaj7 is an E chord with a major 7th. One plays it 4,4,4,6. There's E chords and E7 chords and EMaj7 chords--got it?

Oops! I just read your question again. E7 is an E chord with a minor 7th. One plays it 1,2,0,2.

You seem to have an inquiring mind. Maybe you should get a Theory for Dummies book. I have it, and, though it didn't help me a lot, I did find some chapters helpful.

Lots of peeps play D or F chords instead of E chords. :eek:ld:
 
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E chord consists of the notes E, G#, B
E7 chord consists of the notes E, G#, B, D
Emaj7 chord consists of the notes E, G#, B, D#

All three are different chords.
 
It would help you a lot (maybe) if you learned the names of the notes on each string too. I know you're trying to "keep it simple", but it would help you to understand chords, and how they are formed. Lots of books have a chart showing this. Maybe one of your many books has one.

The best part of playing the Uke for me is all the new information that I am gaining. I love to learn. :eek:ld:
 
E chord consists of the notes E, G#, B
E7 chord consists of the notes E, G#, B, D
Emaj7 chord consists of the notes E, G#, B, D#

All three are different chords.
I know how they are played, I don't know why there is the distinction "maj", when "major" is implied in major chords? That is the confusion. I could go through my ukulele life without knowing I suppose, and play Emaj7, or E7, or E, aka Emaj, every time it comes up, but the meaning of that "maj" in Emaj7 is what is digging at me. How to actually play them is not the problem.
 
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It would help you a lot (maybe) if you learned the names of the notes on each string too. I know you're trying to "keep it simple", but it would help you to understand chords, and how they are formed. Lots of books have a chart showing this. Maybe one of your many books has one.

The best part of playing the Uke for me is all the new information that I am gaining. I love to learn. :eek:ld:
That is what I'm working on Dick, and that is what brought this all up. I'm starting to regret it, as I was doing so well before. But I'm trying to take it to another level, and I think that I need a ten foot ladder to get me there, and I don't know where to find one. I'm frustrated, if you can't tell. I think that I need a drink.:)
 
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I don't think we have enough time to cover everything that I don't know. And then add my thick skull to the mix, and I'm wondering if I'm a lost cause.
 
An E major chord is often abbreviated to E.
An E Dominant 7th chord is often abbreviated to E7.
An E Major 7th chord is often abbreviated to Emaj7.

Most people don't know that the full name X7 chord is X Dominant 7th.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh_chord:

A seventh chord is a chord consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a seventh above the chord's root. When not otherwise specified, a "seventh chord" usually means a dominant seventh chord: a major triad together with a minor seventh. However, a variety of sevenths may be added to a variety of triads, resulting in many different types of seventh chords...
 
When you call a chord E major 7th, the word "major" refers to the seventh, not the chord. A chord labelled E7 is indeed a major chord, but the seventh is actually a minor seventh. You see the D is a minor 7th above the root (E), and a D# is a major 7th above the root.

So, just as an E chord is major unless specified minor (Em), an E7 chord is actually a minor 7th chord unless specified major 7th (EM7).
 
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I don't think we have enough time to cover everything that I don't know. And then add my thick skull to the mix, and I'm wondering if I'm a lost cause.

Awww, shucks, Rollie, yer just abein' modest. To misquote Lincoln "everyone's just about as smart as he wants to be". If'n ya wanna learn stuff, ya gotta crack a book (or get thee to Google). Ya can't learn stuff by just wondering about it. Go back and read our explanations, understand 'em and stop being perplexed. You can do it.

Learning is one of the things that we humans do best--sometimes! :eek:ld:
 
No, Rollie, they're not the same. E is a major chord (and a finger buster, I might add). One plays it 4,4,4,2. EMaj7 is an E chord with a major 7th. One plays it 4,4,4,6. There's E chords and E7 chords and EMaj7 chords--got it?

Oops! I just read your question again. E7 is an E chord with a minor 7th. One plays it 1,2,0,2.

You seem to have an inquiring mind. Maybe you should get a Theory for Dummies book. I have it, and, though it didn't help me a lot, I did find some chapters helpful.

Lots of peeps play D or F chords instead of E chords. :eek:ld:

I play the E chord as 1,4,0,2.
 
When you call a chord E major 7th, the word "major" refers to the seventh, not the chord. A chord labelled E7 is indeed a major chord, but the seventh is actually a minor seventh. You see the D is a minor 7th above the root (E), and a D# is a major 7th above the root.

So, just as an E chord is major unless specified minor (Em), an E7 chord is actually a minor 7th chord unless specified major 7th (EM7).
That makes sense, especially when I go back and re-read everything again. Thank you.
 
My thanks to the OP and to those who answered his question. I had been vaguely wondering the same thing.
 
The easiest way to hear the difference is to play them all barred on the 4th fret:
E - 4447
EMaj7 - 4446
E7 - 4445
E6 - 4444

If you have trouble barring, you can do the same thing with C:
C - ooo3
CMaj7 - ooo2
C7 - ooo1
C6 - oooo

There's also a few synonyms for the 7th chords:
DMaj7, DM7 are both "Major 7". In older handwritten charts, they used triangle, 'cuz it was easier to read when handwritten.
D7, Dx7 are both "Dominant Seventh"...this USUALLY means it's going to move someplace else, rather than be the last chord of a song.
Dmin7, Dm7, and D-7 are all "Minor 7th" chords, the minus sign again being more common in older handwritten charts, as with "triangle" for Maj7. Sometimes people use small letters for minor, but that can be difficult to read, so you'd not see that on, say it with me, older, handwritten charts.
 
Maybe that 'Fretboard Roadmaps' book that gets lots of praise here in the forum has some helpful info as well.

I've not bought/used it yet...

so a sort of blind spot remains for me to explain it as well as our fellow UU members have above, I 'know' how to 'use' the chords based upon years of experience, but my chord theory is rusty at the moment, and I rely more on how it sounds to my ear for songwriting than any formula based upon theory...

sorry I dont have more to offer :(
 
Maybe that 'Fretboard Roadmaps' book that gets lots of praise here in the forum has some helpful info as well.

I've not bought/used it yet...

so a sort of blind spot remains for me to explain it as well as our fellow UU members have above, I 'know' how to 'use' the chords based upon years of experience, but my chord theory is rusty at the moment, and I rely more on how it sounds to my ear for songwriting than any formula based upon theory...

sorry I dont have more to offer :(
That is the book that started this. I got it in the mail this morning, and I'm already over my head.
 
Ha! I thought you weren't gonna buy any more books! You see, you do wanna learn more about music. I dunno why you're fighting it. There's more to playing an instrument than just playing it. Learning is part of the hobby.

I'd rather study and figure stuff out than play the darned thing. :eek:ld:
 
Ah . . great book . . .

For the "D Roadmap" try making it a "C-Roadmap" instead-rather than using 4442 as the basis of the E-Major formation, try 4447. I find it easier to play, and it also avoids having to double the 5th degree on the #5 and b5 triads, which I'm not crazy about sound-wise
 
To the OP, I think Steve did the best job of succinctly answering your question as fully as possible. When it comes to 7th chords, the major label refers to the quality of the 7th.

E = 1402
Emaj7 = 1302
E7 = 1202

As for fretboard road maps, I have it, but even for a music major college educated music teacher like myself, it's complicated. I found more success learning a system my uke teacher calls the CAGE system, within 15 minutes all the chords and different places you can find them up the neck made sense, which I didn't get with fretboard road maps.
 
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