{"id":792,"date":"2022-10-29T11:12:25","date_gmt":"2022-10-29T15:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pianoamore.com\/welcome\/?page_id=792"},"modified":"2022-11-03T09:41:06","modified_gmt":"2022-11-03T13:41:06","slug":"learn-major-7-chords","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pianoamore.com\/welcome\/learn-major-7-chords\/","title":{"rendered":"Major 7 Chords On Piano"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let’s Create Some Richness With Major 7 Chords<\/h3>\n

\"MajorMajor 7<\/strong> chords can really turn a simple major<\/strong> triad<\/a> into something that sounds super rich. It has substance. We are going to take a shortcut approach to learning how to play Major 7<\/strong> chords.<\/p>\n

Why do we call them “Major seven” chords? That’s pretty easy to illustrate. Let’s take a quick look at a Major<\/strong> scale, like the C Major<\/strong> scale:<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Notice that the 7th note (or 7th degree) of the C Major<\/strong> scale is B<\/strong>. So, when we create Major 7<\/strong> chords, we will be adding the 7th degree of that scale to the Major<\/strong> triad.<\/p>\n

The 7th degree of the scale, as you can see above is just one half step lower than the C<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\"C<\/p>\n

Well, since the piano keyboard is symmetrical and repeating, we also have a B<\/strong> one octave lower:<\/p>\n

\"Major<\/p>\n

For The Sake Of Simplicity<\/h3>\n

While playing the Major<\/strong> triad, It’s actually a bit easier to picture this B<\/strong> for someone in the early stages of learning these chords, so we will take that approach:<\/p>\n

\"C<\/p>\n

Project “Major 7” Accomplished!<\/h3>\n

Once you add this 7th degree of the scale – which is exactly one half step lower than the name of the chord or scale – to a Major<\/strong> triad of the same name (C)<\/strong>, you have a Major 7<\/strong> chord!<\/p>\n

The chord is a C Major 7<\/strong> chord no matter where that B<\/strong> is positioned. However, since we are focusing on learning to play these chords in root position, we are going to actually play the higher B<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\"Cmaj7<\/p>\n