Cmaj7 is the C major seventh chord, made of the notes C E G B. Most guitarists play it as X 3 2 0 0 0, an open chord. Below are all 6 ways to hold Cmaj7 on the guitar, from the lowest on the neck to the highest, and the same chord in Drop D and DADGAD. The TabTunix app plays each one. Check out our full chord library.
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Cmaj7
X 3 2 0 0 0
Notes
Degrees: R 3 5 7. Notes: C E G B.
RC
3E
5G
7B
Tuning
Inversions
Voicings
How to play Cmaj7
The shape most players use is X 3 2 0 0 0, from the lowest string to the highest. Hold it like this:
Put your middle finger on the A string at fret 3.
Put your index finger on the D string at fret 2.
Let the G, B and high E strings ring open.
Do not play the low E string.
Cmaj7
X 3 2 0 0 0
6 ways to play Cmaj7
Every shape the chord library holds for Cmaj7 in standard tuning, from low on the neck to high. In each one C is the lowest note; they differ in where your hand sits and in which strings ring.
A major seventh chord is the root, the major third, the fifth and the major seventh: R 3 (5) 7. The fifth can be left out.
Put another of its notes in the bass and Cmaj7 becomes an inversion, written with a slash: Cmaj7/E, Cmaj7/G and Cmaj7/B. Below, the first shape of each.
Cmaj7/E
0 3 2 0 0 0
Cmaj7/G
3 3 2 0 0 0
Cmaj7/B
X 2 2 0 1 0
Keys and progressions with Cmaj7
Cmaj7 is one of the chords of these keys, with its number in each. The chords of a key are the chords built on the notes of its scale.
Imaj7 in C major
IVmaj7 in G major
bVImaj7 in E minor
bIIImaj7 in A minor
It stands in these chord progressions of the app, in the key each opens in:
ii–V–I in C major: Dm7, G7, Cmaj7
I–vi–ii–V in C major: Cmaj7, Am7, Dm7, G7
Circle Turnaround in C major: Em7, Am7, Dm7, G7, Cmaj7
Circle of Fifths in C major: Am7, Dm7, G7, Cmaj7
Cmaj7 in Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD
In Drop D you hold Cmaj7 as in Standard: X 3 2 0 0 0.
In Drop C, Cmaj7 is 0 0 4 2 2 2, where Standard has X 3 2 0 0 0.
In Drop B, Cmaj7 is 1 1 0 0 3 3, where Standard has X 3 2 0 0 0.
In DADGAD, Cmaj7 is X 3 2 0 2 2, where Standard has X 3 2 0 0 0.
More on each tuning: Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD, all under guitar tunings.
Cmaj7 in Drop D
X 3 2 0 0 0
Cmaj7 in Drop C
0 0 4 2 2 2
Cmaj7 in Drop B
1 1 0 0 3 3
Cmaj7 in DADGAD
X 3 2 0 2 2
Chords next door
On the same root, with a page of their own: C, Cm. The same type a fifth up and a fifth down: Gmaj7 and Fmaj7.
A chord is yours when you can change to it in time. In TabTunix, put Cmaj7 and the chord before it into a chord-change exercise, set a target tempo, and play the change to a click that counts you through it. Rate each take, and the app keeps your best tempo, so you see it climb.