In music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

, a major seventh chord is any nondominant seventh chord

Nondominant seventh chord

In music theory, a nondominant seventh chord is a chord which is a diatonic chord that is a seventh chord but that does not possess dominant function and thus is not a dominant seventh chord....

 where the "third

Third (chord)

In music, the third factor of a chord is the note or pitch two scale degrees above the root or tonal center. When the third is the bass note, or lowest note, of the expressed triad, the chord is in first inversion ....

" note

Factor (chord)

In music, a factor or chord factor is a member or component of a chord. These are named root, third, fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth, eleventh, thirteenth, and so on, for their generic interval above the root....

 is a major third

Major third

In classical music from Western culture, a third is a musical interval encompassing three staff positions , and the major third is one of two commonly occurring thirds. It is qualified as major because it is the largest of the two: the major third spans four semitones, the minor third three...

 above the root

Root (chord)

In music theory, the root of a chord is the note or pitch upon which a triadic chord is built. For example, the root of the major triad C-E-G is C....

.
Most typically, major seventh chord refers to where the "seventh

Seventh (chord)

In music, the seventh factor of a chord is the note or pitch seven scale degrees above the root or tonal center. When the seventh is the bass note, or lowest note, of the expressed chord, the chord is in third inversion ....

" note is a major seventh

Major seventh

In classical music from Western culture, a seventh is a musical interval encompassing seven staff positions , and the major seventh is one of two commonly occurring sevenths. It is qualified as major because it is the larger of the two...

 above the root (a fifth

Perfect fifth

In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is a musical interval encompassing five staff positions , and the perfect fifth is a fifth spanning seven semitones, or in meantone, four diatonic semitones and three chromatic semitones...

 above the third note) . This is more precisely known as the major/major seventh chord, and it can be written as maj7, M7, ^Δ, ⑦ etc. It can be represented by the integer notation {0, 4, 7, 11}. In the case where the seventh note is a minor seventh

Minor seventh

In classical music from Western culture, a seventh is a musical interval encompassing seven staff positions , and the minor seventh is one of two commonly occurring sevenths. The minor quality specification identifies it as being the smallest of the two: the minor seventh spans ten semitones, the...

 above the root, it is called a dominant seventh chord

Dominant seventh chord

In music theory, a dominant seventh chord, or major minor seventh chord,is a chord composed of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh. It can be also viewed as a major triad with an additional minor seventh...

 (although this is also a kind of major seventh chord).

Examples of tonic

Tonic (music)

In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...

 major seventh chords include the Charlie's Angels

Charlie's Angels

Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...

 theme song, LaBelle

Labelle

Labelle is an American all female singing group who were a popular vocal group of the 1960s and 1970s. The group was formed after the disbanding of two rival girl groups in the Philadelphia/Trenton areas, the Ordettes and the Del-Capris, forming as a new version of the former group, later changing...

's "Lady Marmalade

Lady Marmalade

"Lady Marmalade" was also covered by Italian pop star Sabrina. It was released in 1987 as the album's second single by Baby Records. In some countries, including France and the Netherlands, the song was known as "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi? " and was released in 1988.-Track listings:7" maxi#...

", Chic

Chic (band)

Chic was an African American disco and R&B band that was organized during 1976 by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards. It is known best for its commercially successful disco songs, including "Dance, Dance, Dance " , "Everybody Dance" , "Le Freak" , "I Want Your Love" , "Good Times"...

's "Le Freak

Le Freak

"Le Freak" is a successful 1978 disco song by the disco band Chic. It was the band's third single album and first Billboard Hot 100 and soul music number-one song. Along with the tracks, "I Want Your Love" and "Chic Cheer", "Le Freak" scored number one on the disco charts for seven weeks...

", the Eagles' "One Of These Nights

One of These Nights (song)

"One of These Nights" is a song written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey and recorded by the American rock band Eagles. The title track from their One of These Nights album, the song became their second single to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart after Best of My Love and also helped propel the album to...

", Bread

Bread

Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...

's "Make It With You

Make It with You

"Make It with You" is a song written by David Gates and originally recorded by the pop/rock group Bread, of which Gates was a member.The song first appeared on Bread's 1970 album On the Waters...

", America

America (band)

America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...

's "Tin Man

Tin Man (song)

"Tin Man" is the title of a 1974 song by the pop-rock band America. It was written by band member Dewey Bunnell and produced by the noted record producer George Martin, who also plays the piano part on the recorded version...

", Blood Sweat & Tears

Blood, Sweat & Tears

Blood, Sweat & Tears is an American music group, originally formed in 1967 in New York City. Since its beginnings in 1967, the band has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and has encompassed a multitude of musical styles...

' "You've Made Me So Very Happy

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 Holloway on the Tamla label...

", third and main part of Paul McCartney and Wings

Wings (band)

Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....

' "Band On The Run

Band on the Run (song)

"Band on the Run" is the title song from Paul McCartney & Wings' acclaimed Band on the Run album. The single sold one million copies in 1974 in the United States, where it reached number 1, and it went to number 3 in the United Kingdom...

", Carly Simon

Carly Simon

Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...

's "The Right Thing To Do

No Secrets (Carly Simon album)

Reviews for No Secrets were mixed. Robert Christgau, writing in Creem, rated the album a B-, which signifies "a competent or mildly interesting record that will usually feature at least three worthwhile cuts." He stated that "if a horse could sing in a monotone, the horse would sound like Carly...

", and, most famously, Chicago

Chicago (band)

Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...

's "Colour My World

Colour My World (Chicago song)

"Colour My World" is a song written by American musician James Pankow, one of the founding members of the rock/jazz fusion band Chicago. Part of Pankow's Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon song cycle/suite, it was recorded for their second album Chicago II...

".

Moving in the seventies to replace the prominence of the dominant seventh as a stable tonic more common in the first fifteen years of the rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 era, the major seventh was common in all styles, "pervading soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

, country rock

Country rock

Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...

, soft rock

Soft rock

Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...

, MOR (middle-of-the-road styles), jazz rock, funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

, and disco

Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

." "In soul and disco

Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

, a tonic minor seventh harmony often alternated with a dominant seventh or dominant ninth chord

Ninth chord

A ninth chord is a chord that encompasses the interval of a ninth when arranged in close position with the root in the bass.A dominant ninth is a dominant chord with a ninth. A ninth chord, as an extended chord, typically includes the seventh along with the basic triad structure. Thus, a Cmaj9...

 on ['Lady Marmalade' & 'Le Freak']...In other styles, major seventh and minor seventh chord

Minor seventh chord

In music, a minor seventh chord is any nondominant seventh chord where the "third" note is a minor third above the root.Most typically, minor seventh chord refers to where the "seventh" note is a minor seventh above the root...

s generally mix (usually with eleventh chord

Eleventh chord

In music, an eleventh chord is a chord which contains the tertian extension of the eleventh. Typically found in jazz, an eleventh chord will also usually include the seventh and ninth along with elements of the basic triad structure. Variants include the dominant eleventh, minor eleventh, and the...

s...) to create a diatonic composite in either major

Major scale

In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...

 or minor mode

Minor scale

A minor scale in Western music theory includes any scale that contains, in its tonic triad, at least three essential scale degrees: 1) the tonic , 2) a minor-third, or an interval of a minor third above the tonic, and 3) a perfect-fifth, or an interval of a perfect fifth above the tonic, altogether...

....The most famous major seventh chord in the history of music, [is] the one that opens...'Colour My World', even though the song departs from the usual pattern described above by 'colouring' the harmonic succession

Chord progression

A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...

 with several chromatic chords

Chromaticism

Chromaticism is a compositional technique interspersing the primary diatonic pitches and chords with other pitches of the chromatic scale. Chromaticism is in contrast or addition to tonality or diatonicism...

. Still, seven of that song's fourteen chords, including the tonic, are major sevenths or ninths, demonstrating the primacy of that chord type."
According to Forte

Allen Forte

Allen Forte is a music theorist and musicologist. He was born in Portland, Oregon and fought in the Navy at the close of World War II before moving to the East Coast. He is now Battell Professor of Music, Emeritus at Yale University...

, the major seventh chord is exemplified by IV⁷, which originates melodically.

The just major seventh chord is tuned

Musical tuning

In music, there are two common meanings for tuning:* Tuning practice, the act of tuning an instrument or voice.* Tuning systems, the various systems of pitches used to tune an instrument, and their theoretical bases.-Tuning practice:...

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.

Major/major seventh chord table

Chord	Root	Major Third	Perfect Fifth	Major Seventh
Cmaj7	C	E	G	B
	C	E (F)	G	B (C)
	D	F	A	C
Dmaj7	D	F	A	C
	D	F (G)	A	C (D)
	E	G	B	D
Emaj7	E	G	B	D
Fmaj7	F	A	C	E
	F	A	C	E (F)
	G	B	D	F
Gmaj7	G	B	D	F
	G	B (C)	D	F (G)
	A	C	E	G
Amaj7	A	C	E	G
	A	C (D)	E (F)	G (A)
	B	D	F	A
Bmaj7	B	D	F	A