music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

, a major seventh chord is a

seventh chord A seventh chord is a chord consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a seventh above the chord's root. When not otherwise specified, a "seventh chord" usually means a dominant seventh chord: a major triad together with a mino ...

in which the third is a

major third In classical music, a third is a musical interval encompassing three staff positions (see Interval number for more details), and the major third () is a third spanning four semitones. Forte, Allen (1979). ''Tonal Harmony in Concept and P ...

above the

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

and the seventh is a

major seventh In music from Western culture, a seventh is a musical interval encompassing seven staff positions (see Interval number for more details), and the major seventh is one of two commonly occurring sevenths. It is qualified as ''major'' because it is ...

above the root. The major seventh chord, sometimes also called a ''Delta chord'', can be written as maj⁷, M⁷, , ⑦, etc. The "7" doesn't 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, commonly written as Cmaj⁷, has pitches C–E–G–B: : It can be represented by the integer notation . According to

Forte Forte or Forté may refer to: Music *Forte (music), a musical dynamic meaning "loudly" or "strong" * Forte number, an ordering given to every pitch class set * Forte (notation program), a suite of musical score notation programs * Forte (vocal ...

, the major seventh chord is exemplified by IV⁷, which originates melodically. Forte, Allen (1979). ''Tonal Harmony in Concept & Practice'', p. 150. . : The just major seventh chord is tuned 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-minor sixth chord (minor triad with an added minor sixth) is an inversion of this chord.

Examples

In 1888, the French composer

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an un ...

composed three slow waltzes, entitled ''

Gymnopédies The ''Gymnopédies'' (), or ''Trois Gymnopédies'', are three piano compositions written by French composer and pianist Erik Satie. He completed the whole set by 2 April 1888, but they were at first published individually: the first and the thi ...

''. The first and best-known of these alternates two major seventh chords. The first eight measures (shown below) alternate between Gmaj⁷ and Dmaj⁷. : \new PianoStaff << \new Staff << \new Voice \relative c'' \new Voice \relative c' \new Voice \relative c' >> \new Staff << \new Voice \relative c' \new Voice \relative c >> >> Later examples of tonic major seventh chords include Joseph Kosma's " Autumn Leaves",

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

' "

This Boy "This Boy" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney). It was released in November 1963 as the B-side of the band's Parlophone single " I Want to Hold Your Hand". In the United S ...

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large Bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Ou ...

' " One of These Nights", Bread's " Make It With You",

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

's " Tin Man", Blood Sweat & Tears' "

You've Made Me So Very Happy "You've Made Me So Very Happy" is a song written by Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Frank Wilson and Berry Gordy, and was released first as a single in 1967 by Brenda Holloway on the Tamla label. The song was later a huge hit for jazz- ...

", the third (main) part of

Paul McCartney and Wings Wings were a British-American rock band formed in 1971 by former Beatle bassist Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards, session drummer Denny Seiwell, and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. Wings were noted for thei ...

' " Band On The Run",

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include " Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thi ...

's " The Right Thing to Do", and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

's " Colour My World".Stephenson, Ken (2002). ''What to Listen for in Rock: A Stylistic Analysis'', p. 83. . "...the most famous major seventh chord in the history of music, the one that opens Chicago's 'Colour My World'..." Common in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

since the Jazz Age of the 1920s, major seventh chords appeared frequently in compositions of genres influenced by jazz in the subsequent decades, such as

traditional pop Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

, and

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

. Moving into the 1970s to replace the prominence of the

dominant seventh chord In music theory, a dominant seventh chord, or major minor seventh chord, is a seventh chord, usually built on the fifth degree of the major scale, and composed of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh. Thus it is a major triad ...

as a stable tonic more common in the first fifteen years of the rock era, the major seventh was common in all styles, "pervading

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal ...

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

MOR Mor or MOR may refer to: Names and titles * Mór (given name), a list of people named Mór or Mor * Mor (surname), a list of people named Mor or Mór * Mor (honorific), or Mar, in Syriac Radio and television * Middle of the road (music) genre * ...

(middle-of-the-road styles),

jazz rock Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and key ...

, funk, and disco." Music theorist Ken Stephenson continues: Pieces which feature prominent major seventh chords include:

Tadd Dameron Tadley Ewing Peake Dameron (February 21, 1917 – March 8, 1965) was an American jazz composer, arranger, and pianist. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dameron was the most influential arranger of the bebop era, but also wrote charts for swin ...

's " Lady Bird", and " This Guy's in Love with You", Bacharach B. and David, H. (1989, p144) ''Burt Bacharach Anthology'', New York, Warner Brothers by

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gr ...

and

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David ...

Major seventh chord table

Major seventh chords for guitar

In standard 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.) * Amaj⁷: xx7654 , xxx224 , xx7999 , x02120 , 576655 * Bmaj⁷: x24342 , 7988xx * Cmaj⁷: x35453 , x32000 * Dmaj⁷: xx0222 , x57675 * Emaj⁷: xx2444 , 021100 * Fmaj⁷: xx3555 , 103210 , xx3210 * Gmaj⁷: xx5777 , 320002

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Major Seventh Chord Seventh chords ca:Acord de sèptima#Acord de sèptima major

Examples

Major seventh chord table

Major seventh chords for guitar

See also

References