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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

C♯root
E♯major 3rd
G♯5th
B♯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 D♭ major.
Capo and transpose
Dreamy two-chord
Floating back and forth, no hurry. In D♭ major.
Capo and transpose

Where it goes next

Thinking in D♭ major, where it is the Imaj7 chord.

G♭maj7
IVmaj7. Lifts away from home without leaving it.
A♭7
V7. Builds tension that wants to come back.
B♭m7
vi7. Same key, sadder colour: the relative minor.
E♭m7
ii7. A gentle step up that sets up the V chord.

Sounds close

A♯m7
Relative minor 7: same notes but one. Both have C♯, E♯ and G♯.
Fm7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have E♯, G♯ and B♯.
Fm
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have E♯, G♯ and B♯.
F
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