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Cmaj7 (C major seventh chord)

The C major seventh (also know as  CM7, Cmaj7).   Where major and minor triads have 3 different notes, 7th chords have 4.

We can construct the CM7 chord by  taking a look at the C Major Scale:

major 7th

We can take the  1st, 3rd, 5th notes of the scale to create  the C major chord.  To make a C major seventh we’ll add the 7th note as well. I’ve highlighted these notes in parentheses below:

major 7th chord construction

Therefore a Cmaj7 chord would have the notes C, E, G, B (the B being the extra note).

How To Play Cmaj7  (C major seventh chord)

Here’s what a Cmaj7 chord looks like:

C Major 7th Chord (open)

How Does Cmaj7 Sound?

What uses have you found with the C major seventh chord? What are your favorite songs that use this chord?