Guitar, piano and ukulele chords

Cmaj7 chord (C major seventh)

The Cmaj7 chord (C major seventh) has 4 notes: C, E, G and B. It is a major seventh chord: a major chord with a major seventh on top. It sounds soft, open and a little dreamy. It works as Imaj7 in C major, IVmaj7 in G major and VImaj7 in E minor.

How to play it on guitar

An x is a string you don't play and 0 is an open string. The number on the left is the fret where the shape starts.

×
Open
x32000
8fr
Barre chord · fret 8
8(10)9988
10fr ××
Easy version
xx(10)(12)(12)(12)

Notes in the chord

NoteInterval
CRoot
EMajor third
GPerfect fifth
BMajor seventh

Inversions

  • Root position: C – E – G – B
  • First inversion: E – G – B – C
  • Second inversion: G – B – C – E
  • Third inversion: B – C – E – G

On piano

The highlighted keys (C, E, G and B) make the chord in root position.

On ukulele

Usual shape
0002
4fr
Higher up the neck · fret 4
5477

Frequently asked questions

What notes are in the Cmaj7 chord?

Cmaj7 has 4 notes: C, E, G and B. It is a major seventh chord: a major chord with a major seventh on top.

How do you play Cmaj7 on guitar?

The usual shape is x32000, read from the low E string to the high E string. If you can't play barre chords yet, start with the easy version: xx(10)(12)(12)(12).

What keys is Cmaj7 in?

Cmaj7 is in C major (Imaj7), G major (IVmaj7), E minor (VImaj7) and A minor (IIImaj7).