Piano chord

C Major 7th Chord

Cmaj7 is a major 7th chord built on C. It contains the notes C – E – G – B.

Cmaj7

Also written: CM7, CΔ7

C

E

G

B

Notes in Cmaj7

Count up from C using the intervals below. The formula shows each note relative to the C major scale.

Notes	Intervals	Formula	Semitones
C	Root	1	0
E	Major 3rd	3	4
G	Perfect 5th	5	7
B	Major 7th	7	11

Right hand: fingers 1–2–3–5 (thumb on C).
Left hand: fingers 5–3–2–1, or play just the root in the left hand and the other notes in the right.
Inversions keep your hand closer to the previous chord — see below.

An inversion puts a different note of Cmaj7 at the bottom. The notes stay the same, the colour and voice leading change.

Add a dreamy major 7th on top of a major chord and you get jazz's most romantic sound — lush, sophisticated, hovering.

Sound: Dreamy & romantic

Cmaj7 is built only from notes of these keys. The Roman numeral shows its role in each key.

Hear Cmaj7 with different sounds and compare it with other chords in the interactive builder.

If chords sound sour even when you play the right notes, the piano is probably out of tune. Our technicians tune pianos across Israel.