As the tonic (I)C♯ major
Home. The loop leaves C♯maj7 and keeps coming back to it.
C♯maj7 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The C♯maj7 chord is a major seventh chord built on the root note C♯. Its notes are C♯, E♯, G♯ and B♯. It's enharmonically the same chord as D♭maj7.
Transpose
Quality
Short answer
Major seventh chords are lush, open and slightly jazzy. Stacking a major third on top of a major triad gives them a dreamy colour often heard in bossa nova, soul and modern R&B.
- Notes
- C♯ · E♯ · G♯ · B♯
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · 7
- Semitones
- 0 · 4 · 7 · 11
- Note
- C♯
- Quality
- Major 7
- Symbol
- C♯maj7
C♯maj7 on piano
4 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play C♯maj7 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on C♯, index finger on E♯, middle finger on G♯ and little finger on B♯. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard C♯ and G♯ are black keys and E♯ and B♯ are white, the keys you'd normally call F and C. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- C♯1
- E♯3
- G♯5
- B♯7
C♯maj7 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, C♯maj7 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. This one is a barre at fret 9: keep the index finger flat across the strings and curve the others so they don't mute the strings next to them.
C♯ · E♯ · G♯ · B♯
Play C♯maj7 on the online piano
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C♯maj7 chord notes
Also known as D♭maj7
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | C♯(C#) | |
| 3 | Major third | 4 | E♯(E#) | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | G♯(G#) | |
| 7 | Major seventh | 11 | B♯(B#) |
How to use the C♯maj7 chord
The C♯maj7 chord is built from a root, a major third, a perfect fifth and a major seventh. Start at the root C♯ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: C♯, E♯, G♯ and B♯. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Major seventh chords colour jazz standards, bossa nova, soul and modern pop. They most often serve as Imaj7 or IVmaj7 in a major key to add warmth without changing the function.
In major keys C♯maj7 is the Imaj7 in C♯ major; in minor keys it's the IIImaj7 in A♯ minor.
How C♯maj7 differs from similar chords
C♯maj7 is not C♯7: its seventh sits a half step below the root rather than a whole step, so it floats instead of pulling. Next to C♯6, which adds the sixth instead, C♯maj7 sounds lusher and more modern. The major seventh is the only note that separates it from a plain C♯ triad.
Where C♯maj7 is used
A major chord is at home as a tonic, and just as useful as the IV or the V of a neighbouring key. Each progression below is written in the key its numerals name.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the C♯maj7 chord?
- The C♯maj7 chord contains C♯, E♯, G♯ and B♯ (C#, E#, G# and B# in plain text).
- Is the C♯maj7 chord major or minor?
- C♯maj7 is a major seventh chord. Major seventh chords are lush, open and slightly jazzy. Stacking a major third on top of a major triad gives them a dreamy colour often heard in bossa nova, soul and modern R&B.
- What key is the C♯maj7 chord in?
- In major keys C♯maj7 is the Imaj7 in C♯ major; in minor keys it's the IIImaj7 in A♯ minor.
- How do you play C♯maj7 on piano?
- Place your fingers on C♯, E♯, G♯ and B♯ and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right. On the keyboard C♯ and G♯ are black keys and E♯ and B♯ are white, the keys you'd normally call F and C. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard.
- How do you play C♯maj7 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. This one is a barre at fret 9: keep the index finger flat across the strings and curve the others so they don't mute the strings next to them.
- What is another name for the C♯maj7 chord?
- C♯maj7 is enharmonically equivalent to D♭maj7. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.