C#maj7 Chord on Ukulele
C#maj7 = C# – F – G# – C (Root, Major 3rd, Perfect 5th, Major 7th)
C sharp major seventh keeps the open C string ringing completely untouched — a happy coincidence, since the open C string's pitch is exactly the major seventh this chord needs. The other three notes come from two separate fingers landing on the same first fret, on the G and E strings (which sit on opposite sides of that open C string), plus a pinky reach to the A string's fourth fret for the root. It's a four-point shape but a genuinely varied one, mixing an open string, two same-fret individual fingers, and one stretch, rather than a single technique repeated across the hand.
The major seventh softens C# major's plain triad into something more reflective, the same relationship Cmaj7 has to plain C major just a half-step up. As Db major seventh in flat notation, it turns up in jazz-influenced ukulele arrangements transposed from horn charts written in Db or Ab, where major seventh chords built on flat-key tonics are common. Because the open C string supplies that major seventh for free, this voicing keeps more genuine open-string ring than a beginner might expect from a chord built on a root with no direct open-string match of its own.
Fingerings
Open Position
How to Practice It
Place the two first-fret notes — G and E strings — with two different fingers rather than trying to find a barre, since the open C string sitting between them makes a barre physically impossible here. Once those are steady, add the pinky's reach to the fourth fret on the A string last, since it's the least stable element and benefits from being the final piece added rather than the first. Comparing this chord against plain C# major clarifies the difference cleanly: the identical barre technique that C# major uses across three strings gets replaced here by two separated single-fret fingers with an open string breathing between them.
Common Progressions
- Imaj7 softening the tonic in the key of C# (C#maj7 in place of C#)
- Respelled Dbmaj7, functioning as IVmaj7 in the key of Ab
- A static C#maj7 vamp beneath a slow, reflective melodic line.
- Imaj7 - vi - ii - V (C#maj7 - A#m - D#m - G#)
FAQ
- Why does the open C string work as C#maj7's major seventh?
- The open C string's own pitch, C natural, sits exactly one half-step below C#, which is precisely the interval a major seventh occupies relative to its root — a direct coincidence of the two pitches being a semitone apart.
- How does C#maj7 differ from C#7?
- They share the same barre-region hand area but change which note carries the extra color — C#7's flatted seventh wants to resolve strongly, while C#maj7's natural seventh, supplied here by the open C string, stays stable and unresolved.
- Is there a barre version of this chord?
- Not one that keeps the open C string's free major seventh — barring across all four strings would fret that string too and lose the coincidence that makes this voicing convenient.
- What's Db major seventh used for in practice?
- In its flat spelling, it appears in jazz-influenced arrangements transposed from horn or piano charts written in Db or Ab, where major seventh chords on flat-key tonics are common.
- Which finger should go down last when building this chord?
- Most players find the pinky's fourth-fret reach on the A string easiest to add last, since it's the least stable element and benefits from the rest of the hand already being settled.
- Does C#maj7 need to resolve anywhere?
- No — like any major seventh chord, it's harmonically stable on its own and can sit comfortably as a destination chord rather than pulling toward a specific next chord the way C#7 does.
- Is there a way to hear the open C string's contribution in isolation?
- Pluck the C string on its own after strumming the full chord — its unfretted ring is doing real harmonic work, not just adding incidental resonance, and comparing it against the fretted notes around it makes that contribution obvious.
- Would this chord ever be written as a slash chord instead?
- Rarely in ukulele notation, though a keyboard player reading the same harmony might see it written as C#maj7 without any slash, since all four notes already belong cleanly to the chord without any unusual bass note substitution.
C#maj7 on other instruments: C#maj7 on Guitar, C#maj7 on Piano. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.