C7 would be a C major triad with a minor 7th above the root.

The 'C' part of the symbol means C major, and the 'maj 7' part of the symbol refers to an interval of a major 7th above the root. Cmaj7 means a C major triad with a major 7th. a 7th or 9th, and describes the quality of the interval formed between that note and the root.

Incidentally: If you see “maj” next to the letter, this is referring to another note, on top of the basic triad, e.g.

In pop music, the chord symbols for major triads are usually shown by the letter name alone, so “C” means C major. a C major chord is C E G because C and E are 4 semitones apart and E and G are 3 semitones apart.

For a minor triad remember 3+4 semitones.Į.g.So for a major triad remember 4+3 semitones.It has a root, then the next note is 3 semitones up, then the next note is 4 semitones up. For a minor triad, it is the other way round.

So, a major triad has a root, then the next note is 4 semitones up, then the next note is 3 semitones up.This results in the root and 3rd being three semitones apart, and the 3rd and 5th being four semitones apart. Take a major triad and just lower the 3rd (middle note) by a semitone, as before. Add another note three semitones above the 3rd.Root position just means that the root is in the bass, i.e. Add a note four semitones above the root (a semitone is the smallest distance from one key to the next). This gives you the 3rd of the chord - or the middle note if it is in root position.Pick a note - this will be the root of the chord.If you don’t know the relevant scales or key signatures, you can still work out any major or minor triad, but using a different method, which is as follows.

A flat major triad