Jazz Basics

How Major Chords Work

The major chord is one of the clearest sounds in music. Its basic shape is simple and stable.

For a major sound:

1 3 5 7

On Cmaj7:

Cmaj7

Here, 3 means the major 3rd and 7 means the major 7th.

So here, 1 3 5 7 means:

  • 1
  • major 3
  • 5
  • major 7

The sound is stable, open, and clear.

Practice it in the app

Open Chord Progressions to loop progressions, change the tempo, and practice with piano, bass, and drums in real time.

Open the app