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The Cmaj7 chord

Built from C - E - G - B, the Cmaj7 is a major seventh that sounds the bossa-nova classic. It lives at the centre of bossa nova, smooth jazz and modern R&B, and it fits into more keys than most writers expect. Bossa nova in one chord. Imagine the opening of Girl from Ipanema and you have it. What follows below: the voicings worth memorising on guitar and piano, the theory in plain language, progressions in two or three different keys, and a short list of real records that lean on the chord.

Hear the Cmaj7 in the chord builder →

Scale degrees Note names

Voicings for Cmaj7

Common ways to grip the Cmaj7 on guitar and piano. Guitar diagrams read low E to high E left-to-right; an × means muted, an open circle above the nut means an open string. Filled dots are fretted notes.

Guitar , full chord shapes

CAGED-derived voicings for Cmaj7 across the neck. Pick the shape closest to where your hand already sits.

Guitar: Emaj7 shape at fr.8

Notes: C - E - G - B (chord tones)

Guitar: Amaj7 shape at fr.3

Notes: C - E - G - B (chord tones)

Guitar: Dmaj7 shape at fr.10

Notes: C - E - G - B (chord tones)

Guitar: Cmaj7 shape at fr.2

Notes: C - E - G - B (chord tones)

Guitar: Gmaj7 shape at fr.5

Notes: C - E - G - B (chord tones)

Guitar: top-4 voicing

Notes: C - E - G - B (chord tones)

Guitar: high top-4 voicing

Notes: C - E - G - B (chord tones)

Guitar , triad shapes

Three-note triad shapes on each string set, shown moving up the neck. Light textures for arpeggios, pop layering and chord-melody work.

Triad: top strings (G-B-e) · open

Notes: top-string triad, open

Triad: top strings (G-B-e) · fr.3

Notes: top-string triad, fr.3

Triad: top strings (G-B-e) · fr.7

Notes: top-string triad, fr.7

Triad: middle strings (D-G-B) · open

Notes: middle-string triad, open

Triad: middle strings (D-G-B) · fr.4

Notes: middle-string triad, fr.4

Triad: middle strings (D-G-B) · fr.8

Notes: middle-string triad, fr.8

Triad: bass strings (A-D-G) · open

Notes: bass-side triad, open

Triad: bass strings (A-D-G) · fr.4

Notes: bass-side triad, fr.4

Triad: bass strings (A-D-G) · fr.9

Notes: bass-side triad, fr.9

Piano voicings

Root position and inversions. The bass note matters: each inversion changes how the chord sits under a melody.

Piano: root position

Notes: C - E - G - B. Root C at the bottom. The classic stacked-thirds spelling of a major seventh.

Piano: first inversion

Notes: E - G - B - C. E at the bottom. Common in chord-melody, walking bass lines and gentler voicings.

Piano: second inversion

Notes: G - B - C - E. G at the bottom. A floating, suspended feel often used in hymns and ballads.

Piano: third inversion

Notes: B - C - E - G. B at the bottom. The seventh in the bass , a smooth jazz favourite.

The theory behind Cmaj7

Cmaj7 is a major seventh built on C. Its three or four notes (C - E - G - B) sit a specific distance apart: root, major third, perfect fifth, major seventh. That makes it a passing chord in the key of a closely related major key, and the same chord works as the passing chord in a closely related major key. The simplest rule of thumb: the Cmaj7 wants to stay home, or relax sideways to the vi.

Progressions that use Cmaj7

Short progressions that put the Cmaj7 to work. Each one is shown in a different key so you can pick the one that suits your singer.

I→IV→V key of C major

Cmaj7 (as passing colour)

This chord appears as a borrowed or passing chord in many major-key progressions.

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Songs that feature Cmaj7

Real records where this chord does structural work. No lyrics quoted, just the title and artist so you can pull up a copy and hear it in context.

Imagine by John Lennon. Cmaj7 colour in the verse harmony.
Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. Cmaj7 as part of the iconic loop.
Norwegian Wood by The Beatles. Cmaj7 voicing inside the chord-melody style.

Related chords

Chords a step away from the Cmaj7 in the songwriting circle, the natural neighbours when you want a substitution.

TriadC DomC7 m7Cm7 NeighbourG NeighbourGm NeighbourG7 NeighbourF NeighbourFm

Keys where Cmaj7 lives

The keys where this chord turns up diatonically. Open any key page for the full set of progressions that lean on it.

C major A minor

Related references

Other ways to put the Cmaj7 to work across the reference library.

Embellishopen Cmaj7 moves Arpeggiooutline it with arpeggios

More songwriting tools

Got the chord but still wrestling with the lyric? Find the right rhyme in RhymeForge, or break a writer's block with the unexpected word-pair generator in CollisionLab. Need to map a full progression? The chord builder on the home page is where the Cmaj7 fits into context. All free, no signup.

About the chord builder

The Undercover Zest chord progression builder is a free interactive tool that maps every diatonic and borrowed chord in every key. Click a Roman numeral to hear it, drag chords into a progression, then audition voicings, inversions and tensions until the song clicks.

This page is a static reference for the Cmaj7. For interactive playback, voice-leading hints and substitution suggestions, open the chord builder above.