Cmaj7 — Major 7th arpeggio
Major triad plus the major 7th — lush, jazzy.
Chord tones
C
1
Root
E
3
Major 3rd
G
5
Perfect 5th
B
7
Major 7th
Guide tones — the 3rd & 7th
The 3rd (E) and 7th (B) are the guide tones — together they spell Cmaj7’s quality. Target them over the chord and the line sounds locked in. They’re ringed on the neck.
Sound & use
Warm and sophisticated — the major 7th adds the dreamy jazz/ballad colour.
e.g. Cmaj7, Fmaj7 — the I and IV of a major key.
How to use it
These notes — C · E · G · B — repeat all over the neck. Unlike a triad shape on one string set, an arpeggio is the same chord tones spread across the whole fretboard so you can play them one note at a time in a solo. Switch the arpeggio to match each chord in your progression and land on the guide tones.
About the Guitar Arpeggio Visualizer
Guitar Tool Hub's free guitar arpeggio visualizer maps seven arpeggio types — major, minor, major 7th, dominant 7th, minor 7th, minor 7♭5, and diminished 7th — across the full fretboard in any key, with tap-to-play audio on every note. An arpeggio is a chord played one note at a time: the same chord tones you'd strum, spread across the neck so you can target them in a solo. The root is ringed for orientation and the guide tones — the 3rd and the 7th — are highlighted in magenta, because landing on those notes is what makes a line sound locked to the chord. Switch the arpeggio to match each chord in your progression. Ideal for learning lead lines, chord-tone soloing, and jazz, blues, and rock improvisation.
- 017 arpeggio types: major, minor, maj7, dominant 7, m7, m7♭5, diminished 7
- 02Root, 3rd, 5th and 7th labelled with the major-scale formula
- 03Guide tones (3rd & 7th) highlighted on the fretboard for chord-tone soloing
- 04Mapped across the whole neck — a soloing/lead tool, not a comping shape
- 05All 12 keys and 27 tunings
- 06Tap any note to hear it played — printable and downloadable
Frequently Asked Questions
An arpeggio is a chord played one note at a time instead of all together. It uses the exact same notes as the chord — the root, 3rd, 5th, and (for 7th chords) the 7th — but spread out across the fretboard so you can play them melodically in a solo or riff.
A scale is a full set of seven (or five) notes you can run up and down; an arpeggio is just the chord tones — three or four notes — drawn from that scale. Because every note of an arpeggio belongs to the chord, soloing with arpeggios sounds locked to the harmony, whereas scales include passing notes between the chord tones.
They overlap: a triad arpeggio is the three-note core (root, 3rd, 5th). The Triads Visualizer focuses on compact triad shapes on a single string set for comping, while the Arpeggio Visualizer maps the chord tones — including the 7th for maj7, dominant 7, m7, m7♭5 and diminished 7 arpeggios — across the whole neck for soloing one note at a time.
The guide tones are the 3rd and the 7th of a chord — the two notes that define its quality (major, minor, dominant). Targeting them over each chord is the fastest way to make a solo sound like it's following the changes, so the visualizer rings them in magenta. For plain triad arpeggios (no 7th) only the 3rd is highlighted.
Match the arpeggio to each chord: over a Cmaj7 use the C major 7th arpeggio, over an Am7 use the A minor 7th arpeggio, and so on. Switch the visualizer's root and arpeggio type for each chord, learn where the chord tones sit, and aim to land on the guide tones (3rd and 7th) as the chord changes.
Yes — completely free. No account, no download, and no payment required.