Major 7th

Notes and formula

The formula is 1 – 3 – 5 – 7, or 0 – 4 – 7 – 11 in semitones from the root. Stack a major third (four semitones), then a minor third (three), then another major third (four): C to E, E to G, G to B.

The interval that defines the chord is the distance from root to seventh — eleven semitones, one semitone short of the octave. That near-collision between B and the C above it is exactly what gives the chord its shimmer, and it is why voicings that keep the two notes far apart sound open while close voicings sound tense.

How to play it

On piano the plain form is C–E–G–B under one hand. In practice pianists drop the fifth and play C–E–B or move the root to the left hand and keep E–G–B on the right: the fifth carries no information here, while the third and seventh carry all of it.

On guitar the open Cmaj7 is x32000 — the same shape as an open C major with the first finger lifted off the B string. Barre forms are 8x998x on the sixth string root and x35453 on the fifth.

How it sounds and what it does

In a major key the major seventh chord lands on the first and fourth degrees — Cmaj7 and Fmaj7 in the key of C. Both are resting chords, which is why the chord reads as calm rather than driving: unlike a dominant seventh, it contains no tritone and therefore pulls nowhere.

That is also its limitation. Because it does not pull, a progression built only from major sevenths floats; the chord earns its effect against something that does move, most often a dominant chord or a minor seventh a fifth away.

Where you hear it

Bossa nova opens on it almost as a signature — the genre's standard repertoire is full of major sevenths held under a spoken-quiet melody. Jazz standards use it as the target of a ii–V–I: Dm7, G7, Cmaj7.

Beyond jazz it is the backbone of neo-soul and of Japanese city pop, and it is the first chord most lo-fi producers reach for when a loop needs to sound unhurried.

Major seventh or dominant seventh

The two chords differ by a single semitone and by everything else. Cmaj7 is C–E–G–B; C7 is C–E–G–B♭. Lowering the seventh introduces a tritone between E and B♭, and that interval is unstable: C7 wants to resolve, Cmaj7 does not.

This is the most common mix-up in chord charts, and it is worth reading symbols carefully: a bare 7 always means the dominant, while the major seventh is always marked — maj7, M7 or Δ.

Scales that contain it

Two modes of the major scale fit the chord without alteration: Ionian, which is the major scale itself, and Lydian, which raises the fourth degree. Ionian is the default choice over a tonic major seventh; Lydian is what players reach for when the chord is not the key centre, because its raised fourth removes the one note that clashes.

Frequently asked questions