The C maj7th Guitar Chord

Welcome to our tutorial on the C maj7 chord, a beautiful chord that belongs to the Major Chords family. The C maj7 chord is composed of the notes C, E, G, and B. These notes are built from the intervals 1, 3, 5, and 7, also known as the root, major third, perfect fifth, and major seventh.

Understanding the intervals that build this chord is paramount to mastering it. If you need a refresher on what these intervals mean, check out our tutorial about fretboard intervals and our tutorial on how to denote chords depending on the intervals that compose it.

As a member of the Major Chords family, the C maj7 chord has a bright and uplifting sound, making it a popular choice in various genres of music. It's especially prevalent in jazz music, often used in jazz chord progressions.

In this tutorial, we will provide you with chord diagrams and fretboard patterns that show the tones composing the C maj7 chord. These visual aids will help you grasp the structure of the chord and how it's played on the guitar. If you're interested in learning more about how chords are built, our tutorial that teaches how to build chords by stacking intervals is a great resource.

Whether you're a beginner or an intermediate player looking to expand your chord vocabulary, mastering the C maj7 chord can open up new possibilities in your playing. So grab your guitar and let's dive in!

Before we check out different chord positions for Cmaj7 let’s get an idea of how the chord is built and used.

The notes for the C major scale are C-D-E-F-G-A-B and a major chord is made up of the root, major third, and perfect fifth.

Which means a C major chord is made up of the notes C-E-G.

We have already discussed chords like E7 that are known as dominant sevenths, Cmaj7 is a major seventh chord.

The root, major third, perfect fifth, and major seventh is simply C-E-G-B.

The major seventh is used across the board in pop, rock, soul, funk , and of course commonly in jazz.

Dominant sevenths are often used to create tension before resolution, major sevenths are more like a little flavor in the chord progression (they give out a smoother feel than the dominant sevenths).

C major scale:

CDEFGAB

Songs With a C Major Seventh Chord

"Imagine" : to show how mild of a change a major seventh chord can bring we have this song by John Lennon.

This song uses a Cmaj7 in the verse between a C and F chord, it helps create the light flowing feel of the song.

If you play C-C7-F it gives it more tension and a rock and blues, feel.

If we play the C-Cmaj7-F we get a song with a much different and more relaxed feel.

Another two well-known songs using major sevenths are Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers

It’s Late by Carole King

Cmaj7 can also be found in the pop and jazz standard Fly Me to the Moon and in Al Green’s love ballad Let’s Stay Together.

How To Use The Cmaj7 Chord

The best time to play the maj7 are on the one and four chords .

So in the key of C we would use Cmaj7 and Fmaj7 in our chord progression.

Another key where the Cmaj7 would sound nice is the Key G.

If you are into jazz, funk, pop standards, or fusion this is a chord you will see pop up often.

It is a chord you will see over and over again in some of the most popular and enduring songs.

Cmaj7 Chord Fingerings

The Cmaj7 tones on the guitar fretboard ( click to zoom )

Using the tones above we can come up with some of the more popular versions of how to play the Cmaj7 chord.

Usually, when we play a chord we want the root note (here C) to be the lowest played bass note.

Sometimes we will find a chord shape where that isn’t the case, which means the chord is an inversion.

If the lowest note is B, E, or G instead of the C that is an inversion.

The most common and first learned open position for Cmaj7 is X32000 .

Another easy but bass heavy open position is 332000 .

C major seventh 332000 fingering ( click to zoom )

We can move up to the third position and play it as X35500 ( click to zoom )

There are a few common but difficult positions that take some practice to master like the common jazz voicing of 8X99XX , along with X3545X and XX10987

C major seventh 8X99XX fingering ( click to zoom )

C maj7 guitar chord X3545X pattern  ( click to zoom )

C major 7th XX10987 chord shape ( click to zoom )

Keys With The C Maj7 Chord

The most common keys in which to find the C Maj 7th chord is C major, the our chord is the root, and G major, where Cmaj7th is the 4th of the key.

C Major Key

G Major Key

Cmaj7 Guitar Chord Shapes

Chord boxes are sorted from the easiest to the hardest. Learn how to read chord diagrams.

If you have difficulties with bar chord shapes, check the Bar Chords Tips tutorial.

You can also use this accessible chords page with written diagrams instruction.

Position 1
Movable

Position 2
Open

Position 3
Open

Position 4
Movable

Position 5
Movable

Position 6
Movable

Position 7
Open

Position 8
Open

Position 9
Movable

Position 10
Movable

Position 11
Movable

Position 12
Open

Position 13
Open

Position 14
Open

Position 15
BarreMovable

Position 16
BarreMovable

Position 17
BarreMovable

Position 18
BarreMovable

You can find more shapes in our all guitar chords online library. If you prefer a printable pdf, download the Free Guitar Chords Chart Pdf