Level 5 - Lesson 8: Major 7 Chords

Major 7 Chords: Understanding the Structure

A major 7 chord adds a smooth, jazzy feel to the standard major chord by incorporating the major 7th interval. This chord is widely used in jazz, R&B, soul, and pop, providing a more sophisticated and dreamy sound compared to a regular major chord.

Major 7 Chord Structure:

The major 7 chord is built by adding the 7th note from the major scale to the standard major chord. Here’s how it’s structured:

Formula: Root - Major 3rd - 5th - Major 7th
Example: (A major 7): A - C# - E - G#

How to Make Major 7 Chord Shapes:

To make moveable major 7 chord shapes, we're going to relate to the 4 barre chord shapes for the low E & A string. In this case the major version of those chords.

The low E string shape for the major 7th chord is not a barre chord and has different fingerings than the regular major shape.

The A string shape for the major 7th chord is more closely related to the regular major shape. To make the shape, your fingers need to be slightly reorganized. (fingering for both shapes will be shown below)

Finger Positions:

How do I use major 7th chords?

The same concept as minor 7th chords applies to major 7th, with a few exceptions.

In the NNS the major chords are located in the 1st, 4th, and 5th intervals in the chord scale. But we can only plug in the major 7th shape into the 1st and 4th.

The reason for not being able to utilize the major 7th on the 5th interval is that the 7th interval in the chord itself is not a note that belongs in the key it's being played in. It can be used as a chord if you want to, but most of the time in context with a chord progression, adding a major 7th on the 5th can sound a bit off.

Songs & Exercises Using Major (& Minor) 7 Chords:

In these exercises, you're going to utilize both the major and minor 7 shapes, and in case you need a refresh on minor 7 chords, here are the graphs.

Song #1: Snooze - SZA

Chord Progression: ii - iii - IV in the key of C

Song #1: Peaches - Justin Bieber

This song incorporates hammering on your 4th finger (pinky) to the major 7 shape on the B string.

Chord Progression: IV - iii - ii - I in the key of C

Exercise #1:

Chord Progression: I - IV in the key of A

Song #3: Get Lucky - Daft Punk

This incredible funk song incorporates minor 7 and regular major chords instead of major 7s to mix things up a little and shows that you can use any combination of chords (even the most basic) to create unique-sounding progressions.

Play the root note of each chord before starting the funk engine, this creates a different groove or bounce than you're most likely used to but still just as funky.

Chord Progression: ii - IV - vi - V in the key of A