CadenzaC major seventh
Cmaj7
Also written CM7 · CΔ7 · CΔ · Cj7
The major 7th: I of C major and IV of G major. The 7th sits a semitone under the octave, and that small rub is what makes it sound finished and unfinished at once. The ii–V–I that ends on it: Dm7 → G7 → Cmaj7.
How pianists voice Cmaj7
Nobody plays a jazz chord in root position. These are the shapes that actually get played — the same ones Cadenza shows when you play the chord.
Shell Left hand
1 · 3 · 7 — root, 3rd and 7th: the three notes that say what the chord is. Left hand, low; everything else is colour.
Rootless A From the 3rd
3 · 5 · 7 · 9 — no root: the bass player has it. The left-hand voicing of modern jazz piano. Without C underneath, the same keys read as Em7 — the bass turns them into Cmaj7.
Rootless B From the 7th
7 · 9 · 3 · 5 — the other half of the pair. A and B alternate through a ii–V–I so the hand barely moves.
Drop 2 Two hands
5 · 1 · 3 · 7 — close position with the second voice from the top dropped an octave: wider, warmer, the standard for chord melody.
Cmaj7 inversions
The same 4 notes with a different one in the bass. Each inversion is written as a slash chord.
Root position Cmaj7
Root at the bottom, stacked in 3rds: 1 · 3 · 5 · 7.
1st inversion Cmaj7/E
E (the 3) in the bass: 3 · 5 · 7 · 1.
2nd inversion Cmaj7/G
G (the 5) in the bass: 5 · 7 · 1 · 3.
3rd inversion Cmaj7/B
B (the 7) in the bass: 7 · 1 · 3 · 5.
Major seventh chords in every key
Every C chord
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