# C♭ Major 7th piano chord (C♭maj7)

C♭maj7 contains C♭, E♭, G♭ and B♭. A major triad with the major seventh added on top. E♭, G♭ and B♭ are black keys; C♭ is white.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/major-7th/c-flat/
- Entity: chord:major-7th:c-flat
- Notes: C♭ E♭ G♭ B♭
- Formula: 1 3 5 7
- Intervals from root: P1, M3, P5, M7
- Interval stack (semitones): 4 3 4
- Also written: C♭maj7, Cbmaj7, C♭ major 7th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | C♭ | Perfect unison | 0 |
| 3 | E♭ | Major third | 4 |
| 5 | G♭ | Perfect fifth | 7 |
| 7 | B♭ | Major seventh | 11 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on C♭, finger 2 on E♭, finger 3 on G♭, finger 5 on B♭. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | C♭ | C♭3 E♭4 G♭4 B♭4 | 7 | 11 st, 151 mm |
| First inversion (C♭maj7/E♭) | E♭ | E♭4 G♭4 B♭4 C♭4 | 6/5 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Second inversion (C♭maj7/G♭) | G♭ | G♭4 B♭4 C♭4 E♭5 | 4/3 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Third inversion (C♭maj7/B♭) | B♭ | B♭4 C♭4 E♭5 G♭5 | 4/2 | 8 st, 110 mm |

## Voicings (10)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | C♭3 E♭4 G♭4 B♭4 | 11 st, 151 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | E♭4 G♭4 B♭4 C♭4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | G♭4 B♭4 C♭4 E♭5 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, third inversion | B♭4 C♭4 E♭5 G♭5 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 | G♭3 C♭3 E♭4 B♭4 | 16 st, 220 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 3 | E♭3 C♭3 G♭4 B♭4 | 19 st, 261 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 and 4 | C♭2 G♭3 E♭4 B♭4 | 23 st, 316 mm | identical | none |
| Shell, root 7 3 | C♭2 B♭3 E♭4 | 16 st, 220 mm | subset | omits G♭ |
| Guide tones, 3 and 7 | E♭4 B♭4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits C♭ and G♭ |
| Rootless close | E♭4 G♭4 B♭4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits C♭ |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| E♭ minor | ♭VImaj7 | Pre-dominant color |
| G♭ major | IVmaj7 | Subdominant, away from home |
| G♯ minor | ♭IIImaj7 | Relative-major color |
| B major | Imaj7 | Tonic, home |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (9)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ♭VI, iv, i, v | E♭ minor | ♭VImaj7 | C♭maj7 to A♭m7 to E♭m7 to B♭m7 | C♭maj7 opens the phrase |
| i, ♭VI | E♭ minor | ♭VImaj7 | E♭m7 to C♭maj7 | 3 tones held from E♭m7 |
| IV, V, I | G♭ major | IVmaj7 | C♭maj7 to D♭7 to G♭maj7 | C♭maj7 opens the phrase |
| I, IV | G♭ major | IVmaj7 | G♭maj7 to C♭maj7 | 2 tones held from G♭maj7 |
| ♭III, ♭VI, ii, v | G♯ minor | ♭IIImaj7 | Bmaj7 to Emaj7 to A♯m7♭5 to D♯m7 | C♭maj7 opens the phrase |
| i, ♭III | G♯ minor | ♭IIImaj7 | G♯m7 to Bmaj7 | 3 tones held from G♯m7 |
| ii, V, I | B major | Imaj7 | C♯m7 to F♯7 to Bmaj7 | 2 tones held from F♯7 |
| IV, I | B major | Imaj7 | Emaj7 to Bmaj7 | 2 tones held from Emaj7 |
| I, vi, ii, V | B major | Imaj7 | Bmaj7 to G♯m7 to C♯m7 to F♯7 | C♭maj7 opens the phrase |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| C♭maj9 | 1 3 5 7 9 | adds D♭ | 4 |
| C♭ | 1 3 5 | drops B♭ | 3 |
| C♭7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | B♭ becomes B♭♭ | 3 |
| C♭mMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | E♭ becomes E♭♭ | 3 |
| C♭6 | 1 3 5 6 | B♭ becomes A♭ | 3 |
| C♭add9 | 1 3 5 9 | B♭ becomes D♭ | 3 |
| C♭9 | 1 3 5 ♭7 9 | B♭ becomes B♭♭, D♭ | 3 |
| C♭m | 1 ♭3 5 | E♭, B♭ becomes E♭♭ | 2 |
| C♭aug | 1 3 ♯5 | G♭, B♭ becomes G | 2 |
| C♭sus2 | 1 2 5 | E♭, B♭ becomes D♭ | 2 |
| C♭sus4 | 1 4 5 | E♭, B♭ becomes F♭ | 2 |
| C♭m7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | E♭, B♭ becomes E♭♭, B♭♭ | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {11, 3, 6, 10}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 4, 7, 11]
- Normal order: [10, 11, 3, 6]
- Prime form: (0158)
- Forte number: 4-20
- Interval vector: <101220>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C♭3 | 59 | 246.94 Hz |
| E♭4 | 63 | 311.13 Hz |
| G♭4 | 66 | 369.99 Hz |
| B♭4 | 70 | 466.16 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in C♭maj7?

C♭maj7 contains C♭, E♭, G♭ and B♭. The formula is 1, 3, 5, 7.

### How do you play C♭maj7 on piano?

Play C♭, E♭, G♭ and B♭ together. Right hand fingers 1, 2, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 2, 1. E♭, G♭ and B♭ are black keys; C♭ is white.

### What are the inversions of C♭maj7?

4 positions: root position C♭ E♭ G♭ B♭, C♭maj7/E♭, C♭maj7/G♭, C♭maj7/B♭.

### What keys contain C♭maj7?

4: ♭VImaj7 in E♭ minor, IVmaj7 in G♭ major, ♭IIImaj7 in G♯ minor, Imaj7 in B major.

### What is the difference between C♭maj7 and C♭maj9?

Adds D♭. 4 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy C♭maj7 for small hands?

The guide tones, 3 and 7 voicing, E♭4 B♭4, spans 7 semitones or about 96 mm.

### What are the frequencies of C♭maj7?

From C♭3 at A440 in 12-TET: 246.94, 311.13, 369.99, 466.16 Hz.

### What is the set class of C♭maj7?

Prime form (0158), Forte 4-20, interval vector &lt;101220&gt;.

### How do I transpose C♭maj7 to another key?

Keep the 1, 3, 5, 7 formula on the new root. Cmaj7 is C, E, G, B; C♯maj7 is C♯, E♯, G♯, B♯.

### Is Bmaj7 the same as C♭maj7?

Enharmonically yes: the same piano keys and the same sound, spelled differently.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:major-7th:c-flat
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12