The Major 7th Chord
What are major 7th chords? Can I play them on guitar? How do you use them in chord progressions? Read on to find out!
Major 7th chords have four notes. You will see them written like this:
1st 3rd 5th 7th
These numbers represent intervals, that is the distance between each note.
The 1st note, also known as the root note, is where the letter of the chord comes from.
The intervals are all related to this 1st note.
You can also think of this like a major chord with a 7th note added.
Major 7th chords are also accessible on the guitar, making them easy to incorporate into your progressions.
There are several types of 7th chords that you may have heard of. This can cause confusion, but just know that the major 7th is only one of these chords.
Have a listen to the C major 7th chord below.
You can hear the dreamlike, romantic quality of the major 7th chord. It helps express gentle, intimate emotions. This lends itself to ballads, soul, jazz and more reflective songs. When played at medium to slow tempos the quality and nuance of the major 7th can be fully heard.
Some people may refer to the major 7th sound as cheesy or cliché if overused.
How can I use Major 7th chords?
Major 7th chords are really versatile and found everywhere in music.
Here are a few ideas for you to try.
Major Key Examples
A nice and simple progression to begin with. Here we take all the major chords from a major key, and add some variation by moving from the standard one chord to the major seventh.
In major keys chords one and four can be played as major sevenths without any problems. This example is our first look at the four major seventh in a simple and pleasing progression.
This example is a simple vamp between the four and one major seventh chords. This is quite a popular technique.
Minor (Natural / Aeolian) Key Examples
Major 7ths can be used in any key. With that in mind, here are some A minor key examples.
In natural minor keys you can play the three and six chords as major sevenths without any issues.
Major sevenths work well with minor sevenths, providing a unified smoothness.
This is a nicely balanced progression between sevenths and standard triads.
You don’t have to start chord progressions with the tonic chord. Here we start on VI major 7th and work down towards the i chord, via minor 7th chords.
Dorian Key Example
Let’s finish up with an example in the key of A Dorian.
In Dorian keys you can use the major seventh as chords three and seven without any issues. Putting chords in Roman Numeral order, regardless of key, creates a movement, either rising up or down. This is sometimes called an escalator effect.