| Component intervals fromroot | |
|---|---|
| major seventh | |
| perfect fifth | |
| major third | |
| root | |
| Tuning | |
| 8:10:12:15[1] | |
| Forte no. / | |
| 4–20 / |
Inmusic, amajor seventh chord is aseventh chord in which thethird is amajor third above theroot and theseventh is amajor seventh above the root. The major seventh chord, sometimes also called aDelta chord, can be written as maj7, M7,Δ, ⑦, etc. The "7" does not have to be superscripted, but if it is, then any alterations, added tones, or omissions are usually also superscripted. For example, the major seventh chord built on C, commonlywritten as Cmaj7, has pitches C–E–G–B:
It can be represented by theinteger notation {0, 4, 7, 11}.
According toForte, the major seventh chord is exemplified by IV7, which originates melodically.[3]
The just major seventh chord istuned in the ratios 8:10:12:15, as a just major chord is tuned 4:5:6 and a just major seventh is tuned 15:8.
The minor flatsixth chord (minor triad with an added minor sixth) is an inversion of this chord.
In 1888, the French composerErik Satie composed three slow waltzes, entitledGymnopédies. The first and best-known of these alternates two major seventh chords. The first eight measures (shown below) alternate between Gmaj7 and Dmaj7.
Later examples oftonic major seventh chords includeHenry Mancini's Theme fromCharlie's Angels,Joseph Kosma's "Autumn Leaves",[4]The Beatles' "This Boy",[5]Eagles' "One of These Nights",Bread's "Make It With You",America's "Tin Man",Blood Sweat & Tears' "You've Made Me So Very Happy", the third (main) part ofPaul McCartney and Wings' "Band On The Run",Carly Simon's "The Right Thing to Do", andChicago's "Colour My World".[6]
Common injazz since theJazz Age of the 1920s, major seventh chords appeared frequently in compositions of genres influenced by jazz in the subsequent decades, such astraditional pop,bossa nova, andeasy listening. Moving into the 1970s to replace the prominence of thedominant seventh chord as a stabletonic more common in the first fifteen years of therock era, the major seventh was common in all styles, "pervadingsoul,country rock,soft rock,MOR (middle-of-the-road styles),jazz rock,funk, anddisco."[6] Music theorist Ken Stephenson continues:
In soul and disco, a tonic minor seventh harmony often alternated with a dominant seventh or dominantninth chord on
['Lady Marmalade' & 'Le Freak']... In other styles, major seventh andminor seventh chords generally mix (usually witheleventh chords...) to create a diatonic composite in eithermajor orminor mode.... The most famous major seventh chord in the history of music, [is] the one that opens... 'Colour My World', even though the song departs from the usual pattern described above by 'colouring' theharmonic succession with severalchromatic chords. Still, seven of that song's fourteen chords, including the tonic, are major sevenths or ninths, demonstrating the primacy of that chord type.[6]
Pieces which feature prominent major seventh chords include:Tadd Dameron's "Lady Bird",[7] and "This Guy's in Love with You",[8] byBurt Bacharach andHal David.
| Chord | Root | Major third | Perfect fifth | Major seventh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmaj7 | C | E | G | B |
| C♯maj7 | C♯ | E♯ (F) | G♯ | B♯ (C) |
| D♭maj7 | D♭ | F | A♭ | C |
| Dmaj7 | D | F♯ | A | C♯ |
| D♯maj7 | D♯ | F (G) | A♯ | C (D) |
| E♭maj7 | E♭ | G | B♭ | D |
| Emaj7 | E | G♯ | B | D♯ |
| Fmaj7 | F | A | C | E |
| F♯maj7 | F♯ | A♯ | C♯ | E♯ (F) |
| G♭maj7 | G♭ | B♭ | D♭ | F |
| Gmaj7 | G | B | D | F♯ |
| G♯maj7 | G♯ | B♯ (C) | D♯ | F (G) |
| A♭maj7 | A♭ | C | E♭ | G |
| Amaj7 | A | C♯ | E | G♯ |
| A♯maj7 | A♯ | C (D) | E♯ (F) | G (A) |
| B♭maj7 | B♭ | D | F | A |
| Bmaj7 | B | D♯ | F♯ | A♯ |
Instandard tuning, the left is the low E string. To the right of the | is another way of playing the same chord. x means mute the string. (The Amaj7 demonstrates the movable chord shapes.)
