How to play C minor-Major 7th mandolin chords

Additional types of 7th chords can occur on popular and jazz music. One of these chords, is the C minor-major 7th (Cmmaj7) mandolin chord. Although there are many positions (ways, variants etc.) to play the C mmaj7 mandolin chord, I suggest you start with the slideshow that shows the most common mandolin chord positions for C mmaj7 – displayed on the top of the page above, fingered for your convenience.

For practical reasons, I have included also a Chord Chart for C mmaj7 on mandolin, feel free to print it.

The C mmaj7 is a 7th chord, i.e. it consists of four notes with C as root. To construct a minor-major 7th chord you have to use a minor triad and a major 7th interval. So, for Cmmaj7, the minor triad is C-Eb-G, and the major seventh interval is C-B. When these two are combined, they create Cmmaj7 (C-Eb-G-B), as following

• The root, which for the C mmaj7 chord is of course C
• The third, which for the C mmaj7 chord is Eb. Note that this creates a minor third interval that consists of three half steps (C to C#, C# to D, D to Eb)
• The fifth, which for the C mmaj7 chord is G. Note again that this creates a major third interval that consists of four half steps (Eb to E, E to F, F to Gb, Gb to G).
• The seventh, which for the C mmaj7 chord is B. Note that this creates a major third interval that consists of four half steps (G to G#, G# to A, A to Bb, Bb to B). It is also a major seventh interval from the root.

See how the C mmaj7 chord is written on sheet paper:

If you need a blank sheet paper to write it down in order to understand it, you can download one from theMandolinTuner free blank music paper sheet.

There are many good articles here at theMandolinTuner for practicing chords. I suggest you start with:

• How to practice mandolin chords
• How to play five easy mandolin chords

Ok, it is now time to practice. Grab your mandolin and try to play these chord variants now, it is easy, just follow the instructions!