C#maj7 cavaquinho chord

C#maj7 (C sharp major seventh) is built from C#, E#, G# and B#, the degrees 1–3–5–7. On cavaquinho, the main shape is 3 5 2 3, the first diagram, marked with the star.

Play a plain C#. Nice — but ground-floor nice. Now hit play: C#maj7 is the same house with high ceilings.

Hear C#maj7 before you play

Why C#maj7 sounds this way

Here's the curious part: C, the new note, lives a half step from C# — that close, it should grind. And it does. But F and G# hold the room, so the grind turns into shimmer instead of a fight. Play the arpeggio again, no rush all the way to the last note and wait: you'll feel the spark without the fire. It's danger with a seatbelt on — which is why it sounds expensive.

How to play C#maj7 on cavaquinho

On the cavaquinho, four steel strings tuned D–G–B–D pack the chord into a small, bright space — every finger counts. So go with the first position below; it's the main shape — that's why it carries the ⭐. Then do the before-and-after: C#, then C#maj7. The second is the first one after sunset. Repeat until it stops sounding "wrong" — for a lot of people this chord feels odd on the first listen and addictive by the third.

Precision Tuner: Get in tune before you play: chromatic tuner and reference tones, free in standard tuning · see it in Chord and Fret

Higher up the neck this chord becomes comping carpet — the kind of sound that flatters any voice on top. Positions are right below.

C#maj7 notes and degrees

C#maj7 stacks the root C#, the major third E#, the perfect fifth G# and the major seventh B#.

Where C#maj7 shows up

Across keys, C#maj7 works as Imaj7 in C# major, IVmaj7 in G# major, IIImaj7 in A# minor — almost always the deluxe I or the elegant IV. It was bossa nova's signature and became the world's: today it shows up from jazz to indie without asking permission.

Transpose & Capo: Need it in another key? Transpose the progression for free; finding the best capo is part of Pro · try it in Chord and Fret

Identify Chord: Found a shape on your fretboard? Mark it on the screen and the app names the chord, 5 times a day for free · use it in Chord and Fret

Where C#maj7 usually goes

Treating C#maj7 as the home chord (I) of its key, it usually moves toward the pre-dominant (D#m / F#) or the dominant (G# / B#°), and the dominant pulls back home. Typically, not a rule.

Going beyond C#maj7

For improvising, C# Ionian (C# D# E# F# G# A# B# · 1 2 3 4 5 6 7: the plain major scale, where everything starts); C# Lydian (C# D# E# F## G# A# B# · 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7: the major scale with a raised fourth — one extra step of daydream); C# Lydian ♯2 (C# D## E# F## G# A# B# · 1 #2 3 #4 5 6 7: a lydian with a raised second, harmonic-major color) wrap the whole chord. And the jazz shapes at the end are the same four notes spread across the neck, for the day you want to sound like an arranger.

Scale: The scale's positions across the neck, with degree, note and finger labels, free; playing the scale and the tempo-ramp exercise are part of Pro · open in Chord and Fret

Scales to improvise over C#maj7

To improvise over C#maj7 as home, the C# Ionian scale fits entirely: it contains every note of the chord. The best fit depends on the key, the surrounding chords and the tensions you want. And when the dominant (G#) pulls back, the leading tone C is the note that wants to resolve home.

Swaps that work:

• A#m7A#m7A#m7A#m7 — Relative minor (vi) — same tonic function
• Fm7Fm7Fm7Fm7 — Mediant (iii) — tonic function

Reharmonize: Want richer substitutions? Reharmonize's Subtle and Medium levels are free; Bold and Jazz are part of Pro · open in Chord and Fret

If at some point you want the ground back, it's one click away: C# without the seventh. The house hasn't moved.

Updated October 20, 2026