# Cmaj7, the C major 7 guitar chord

Cmaj7 is C major gone soft focus. Lift one finger from C and the chord turns airy and reflective, which is why lo-fi and gentle pop are full of it. It’s easier than C, but the same rules hold: skip the low E string, and don’t let the middle finger brush the open G.

Cmaj7

## How to play it

- Middle finger on the D string (4th), 2nd fret.
- Ring finger on the A string (5th), 3rd fret.
- Let the open G string (3rd), B string (2nd) and high E string (1st) ring.
- Don't strum the low E string (6th). It stays silent in this shape.

## Changes to practice

Holding Cmaj7 still is the easy part. Songs need you to _arrive_ at it in rhythm, so in Strumhold you practice Cmaj7 as changes, alongside the rest of the Open Major 7ths set:

- [Cmaj7 ↔ Amaj7](https://strumhold.com/chords/a-major-7/) C major 7 to A major 7 [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A.maj7.A~C.maj7.C)
- [Cmaj7 ↔ Dmaj7](https://strumhold.com/chords/d-major-7/) C major 7 to D major 7 [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/C.maj7.C~D.maj7.D)
- [Cmaj7 ↔ Gmaj7](https://strumhold.com/chords/g-major-7/) C major 7 to G major 7 [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/C.maj7.C~G.maj7.G)

## Same root, different color

- [C](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-major/), C major
- [Cm](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-minor/), C minor
- [C7](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-7/), C dominant 7
- [Cm7](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-minor-7/), C minor 7

## Hear yourself get faster

Strumhold listens to your guitar through your device's mic, a headset, or a line-in from your audio interface. You drill a chord change to a metronome and it scores every single change. Free, no account, works offline.

[Drill Cmaj7 in the app](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A.maj7.A~C.maj7.C)