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The problem it solves
A plain major triad can sound too simple or flat. Adding the major seventh gives you a warm, luminous colour, widely used in jazz, pop and neo-soul, without losing stability.
Detailed theory
Key idea
A maj7 chord is a major triad (1-3-5) with the major seventh added (7): the formula is 1-3-5-7.
The major seventh sits just one semitone below the octave, and that is what gives it its gentle friction and its open, stable colour.
Understand it
Start from a major triad and add a fourth note: the major seventh, counted from the root. In C it is C-E-G-B. The B is the major seventh: it sits eleven semitones above the C, that is, just one semitone below the C of the next octave.
This nearness to the eighth degree is the key to its character. The major seventh rubs slightly against the root (which the ear hears an octave up), and that small, controlled friction is what we perceive as a soft, almost dreamy brightness, without the chord ceasing to sound stable.
Unlike the dominant, a maj7 chord contains no tritone: the third and the seventh form a major seventh, not a tritone. That is why it doesn't push toward resolution; it rests. It is a tonic-function colour, and you will often find it on the first and fourth degrees (Imaj7, IVmaj7).
An analogy: if the major triad is a clean note, the maj7 chord is the same triad with a soft halo around it. The halo (the seventh) does not break the chord’s repose, it just wraps it in a richer, more open light.
Staff & keyboard
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The C triad (C-E-G) with the major seventh added (B). Seeing the four notes side by side shows what the B brings: the open, luminous colour of the maj7.
How to recognise it
How it's written
It is written with the maj7 (or Δ7) symbol over the root: Cmaj7, Fmaj7, Gmaj7. On the staff you see four notes stacked in thirds; the top one is the major seventh, a tone above the fifth and a semitone below the octave of the root.
How it feels
It sounds full and open, with a luminous brightness and a touch of nostalgia, but at rest: it does not ask to go anywhere. First play the C-E-G triad and then add the B on top; you will hear that soft light add itself in without creating any urgency.
Common mistake
Confusing the major seventh (maj7) with the minor seventh (the dominant one): the major one sits a semitone from the octave and sounds stable; the minor one sits a tone away and carries tension.
Expecting a maj7 chord to resolve like a dominant: the maj7 rests, it does not pull toward the tonic.
Try it
On the keyboard, play C-E-G and then add the B on top: compare the colour of the triad with that of Cmaj7.
Chain Cmaj7 and Fmaj7 (Imaj7–IVmaj7 in C major) and notice that both sound stable, asking for no resolution.
On the instrument
Staff & keyboard
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Cmaj7 = C-E-G-B. The three triad notes (C, E, G) plus the major seventh (B), which sits just a semitone below the C above. Tap each note to hear its colour.
Where it's used
- Colouring the tonic
- Replacing a resting major triad (I or IV) with its maj7 version for a more open, richer ending without losing stability.
- A jazz, pop and neo-soul sound
- Using Imaj7 and IVmaj7 as the basis of progressions with the warm, luminous colour typical of those styles.
Examples
Chord progression
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Imaj7 → IVmaj7 in C major: Cmaj7 and Fmaj7. Both chords sound stable and open; the maj7 colour rests, it does not push toward any resolution.
Prepares you for
Exercises
Play maj7 chords
Play the maj7 chord shown, on any root.
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Mini test
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0/6 answeredQuestion 1/6
How is a major seventh chord (maj7) built?