Skip to content

C major 7 chord

C major 7 Major 7 family

Soft, dreamy, a bit wistful.

Easiest shape1 of 3

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

Change a finger and see what it becomes

Built from

Croot
Emajor 3rd
G5th
Bmajor 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 C major.
Capo and transpose
Dreamy two-chord
Floating back and forth, no hurry. In C major.
Capo and transpose

Where it goes next

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

Fmaj7
IVmaj7. Lifts away from home without leaving it.
G7
V7. Builds tension that wants to come back.
Am7
vi7. Same key, sadder colour: the relative minor.
Dm7
ii7. A gentle step up that sets up the V chord.

Sounds close

Am7
Relative minor 7: same notes but one. Both have C, E and G.
Em7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have E, G and B.
Em
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have E, G and B.
E
Shares 2 of its notes. Both have E and B.

Scales that fit

Notes you can play over this chord, simplest first.

Keys it lives in