How to play C maj7 chords with mandolin

Overview

There are nine positions (ways, variants etc.) to play the C maj7 chord on the mandolin.

In this article you can find the most common chord positions – displayed on the slideshow above, fingered for your convenience. If you need help to understand how to play them, you will find step-by-step instructions at the middle of this article. Finally, the article closes with a chord chart for future reference, feel free to print it.

What is a C maj7 Chord?

If it is one thing you need to remember for Seventh chords, it is that they consist of four notes, unlike major and minor chords that consist of 3 notes. So the C maj7, consists of:

The root, which for Cmaj7 is C
The third, which for Cmaj7 is E
The fifth, which for Cmaj7 is G
The seventh, which for Cmaj7 is B

See it below displayed on sheet paper:

Four finger, C maj7 fingered for mandolin

This is how you place your left hand on the fretboard:

Fourth finger on 4th fret of fourth string.
First finger on 2nd fret of third string.
Second finger on 3rd fret of second string.
Third finger on 3rd fret of first string.

Note that because the first bass note is B and not the root C , we call this chord third inversion and we write it C maj7/B, meaning that this is a C maj7 with the first note being B.

Three finger C maj7 fingered for mandolin

This is how you place your left hand on the fretboard:

Fourth finger on 5th fret of fourth string.
First finger on 2nd fret of both third and second string.
Second finger on 3rd fret of first string.

Note that because the first bass note is C i.e. the root , we call this chord just C maj7, meaning that this is a C maj7 with the first note being C.

Four finger C maj7 fingered for mandolin

C7 chord fingered for the mandolin, third position

This is how you place your left hand on the fretboard:

First finger on 4th fret of fourth string.
Second finger on 5th fret of third string.
Third finger on 7th fret of second string.
Fourth finger on 8th fret of first string.

Note that because the first bass note is B and not the root C , we call this chord third inversion and we write it C7/B, meaning that this is a C7 with the first note being B.

C maj7 Mandolin Chord Variants

As with all chords, there are many variants of the C maj7 chord for the mandolin. I have included nice-looking photorealistic descriptions of the four most common ones on top of this article for your convenience. Nevertheless, if you want to explore more, see below a Chord Sheet that presents all eleven variants for you to practice.

How to Practice chords on the mandolin

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

Call to action

Ok, it is now time to practice. Grab your mandolin and try to play the chord variants slowly at the beginning and then fast!

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“If you really want to master the mandolin, practice each chord together with scales on the same key. If you do that, you will master not only picking and chords, but also fiddling!”

Chris Rizos, theMandolinTuner

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