Left-handed Cmaj7 diagram
Vertical: high e on the left, nut at the top. Horizontal: high e at the top, nut on the right. X = silent, O = open. Dot numbers are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little. A thick line joins notes held with one finger as a barre.
Fret and finger guide
Both codes read from low E to high e, regardless of the diagram view.
- Frets
x · 3 · 2 · 0 · 0 · 0- Fingers
- – · 3 · 2 · – · – · –
- Level
- Intermediate (this fingering)
Make a clean Cmaj7 chord
Start with a C shape and lift the index finger from B. Leave all three upper strings open.
- Place one finger at a time, just behind the fret wire.
- Pick each sounding string slowly. Adjust any finger that mutes its neighbour.
- Release pressure, then make the shape again. Aim for a relaxed hand.
- Strum four beats, rest for four, then repeat. Rest if your hand becomes tired; stop if you feel pain.
Another way to play it
Alternate C and Cmaj7 slowly. Listen to the B-string note move from C to B.
Fret codes are written low E to high e. An x means leave that string silent.
Practise chord changes with a metronome →Cmaj7 notes and chord formula
A major seventh adds the note one semitone below the root to a major triad. It has a different sound from a dominant seventh: maj7 and 7 are different chord symbols.
- Formula
- 1 – 3 – 5 – 7
- Chord notes
- C – E – G – B
How to read chord diagrams · Build a comfortable barre · Connect chord shapes with CAGED