Cmaj7 Chord

The lower three notes, C-E-G, form a major triad. Add B to get C-E-G-B. The formula is 1-3-5-7. Here, “7” in the formula means a major seventh; the written chord symbol maj7 makes that explicit.

All four notes are white keys. Play C-E-G first, then add B; the added note is one key below the next C.

A four-note chord has three inversions. Move the bottom note up an octave each time:

The chord name remains Cmaj7 because the four notes stay the same. When you hear a bass note beneath it, pay attention to that lowest sounding note as well as the hand position. Chord Inversions shows how a slash symbol records a specified bass.

In C major, Cmaj7 can be the home chord, Imaj7. In G major, the same notes form IVmaj7, the chord on the fourth scale degree. The notes do not change when the role changes; the surrounding chords tell you whether the root feels like home. Play Cmaj7, then a plain C major triad. The triad removes the seventh without changing the root, third or fifth. This is a practical way to hear what the added note contributes before you try the chord in a longer progression.

Lower only B by one semitone while keeping C, E, G. You have changed the major seventh to a minor seventh, making C7. The symbol 7 on its own means this different chord. Compare C7 Chord after playing both versions on the same root. In a typical major-key V7 resolution, the minor seventh can move down by step; Cmaj7 does not automatically have that same dominant job.

Play the major triad, add B, and pause. Sing the added note, then sing the next C above it. The distance is one semitone. Move the C bass lower while keeping the upper notes where they are and notice how the wider spacing changes the texture. The pitch names stay fixed, but the way they sit in your ear changes.