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A major 7 chord

A major 7 Major 7 family

Soft, dreamy, a bit wistful.

Easiest shape1 of 6

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

Change a finger and see what it becomes

Built from

Aroot
C♯major 3rd
E5th
G♯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 A major.
Capo and transpose
Dreamy two-chord
Floating back and forth, no hurry. In A major.
Capo and transpose

Where it goes next

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

Dmaj7
IVmaj7. Lifts away from home without leaving it.
E7
V7. Builds tension that wants to come back.
F♯m7
vi7. Same key, sadder colour: the relative minor.
Bm7
ii7. A gentle step up that sets up the V chord.

Sounds close

F♯m7
Relative minor 7: same notes but one. Both have A, C♯ and E.
C♯m7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have C♯, E and G♯.
C♯m
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have C♯, E and G♯.
C♯
Shares 2 of its notes. Both have C♯ and G♯.

Scales that fit

Notes you can play over this chord, simplest first.

Keys it lives in