What notes are in the Cmaj7#5 chord?

Cmaj7#5 is made of C, E, G# and B — the 1, 3, #5 and 7 degrees of a major seventh sharp five chord built on C.

What keys use the Cmaj7#5 chord?

No major or natural-minor key contains all 4 notes of Cmaj7#5. Chords like this arrive as borrowed harmony — secondary dominants, harmonic-minor colour, or chromatic passing chords — rather than as one of a key's native chords.

How do you play Cmaj7#5 on guitar and piano?

This page shows Cmaj7#5 on guitar and piano — 4 voicings in total. Each diagram links to the full instrument page with alternate shapes, audio and common mistakes.

Chord · C Major 7♯5

Cmaj7♯5 Chord

Cmaj7♯5 is C, E, G# and B — lydian augmented sound; modern jazz.

Hear it

Cmaj7♯5 on every instrument

The same 4 notes, 2 sets of hands. Open a diagram for alternate shapes, audio and the mistakes to avoid.

Guitar1 voicing

Piano3 voicings

What Cmaj7♯5 is made of

Cmaj7#5 (C major seventh sharp five) is built from the notes C, E, G#, B, with the interval pattern 1, 3, #5, 7.

Stack 1, 3, #5 and 7 on a root of C and you get C, E, G# and B. That interval recipe is what makes the chord a major seventh sharp five chord — move the same shape to another root and the character travels with it, which is why Dmaj7♯5 sounds like a transposed Cmaj7♯5.

Major 7♯5: Lydian augmented sound; modern jazz.

Spelling: the notes above are written the way a score would write them, not simplified to the nearest piano key. That is why this chord is spelled with G♯ rather than its enharmonic equivalent.

Keys that contain Cmaj7♯5

No major or natural-minor key contains all 4 of these notes — this one gets borrowed.

Chords like this one sit outside the diatonic set — they arrive as secondary dominants, borrowed chords or passing harmony. Browse every key to see which progressions pull it in.

Other chords on C

Same root, different colour.

CC Major CmC Minor CdimC Diminished CaugC Augmented Csus2C Suspended 2nd Csus4C Suspended 4th C5C Power Chord C6C Major 6th

The same major seventh sharp five shape, moved

The identical interval recipe, built on other roots.

Dmaj7♯5D Major 7♯5 Emaj7♯5E Major 7♯5 Fmaj7♯5F Major 7♯5 Gmaj7♯5G Major 7♯5 Amaj7♯5A Major 7♯5 Bmaj7♯5B Major 7♯5 F♯maj7♯5F# Major 7♯5 D♭maj7♯5Db Major 7♯5

Questions people ask about Cmaj7#5

What notes are in the Cmaj7#5 chord?: Cmaj7#5 is made of C, E, G# and B — the 1, 3, #5 and 7 degrees of a major seventh sharp five chord built on C.
What keys use the Cmaj7#5 chord?: No major or natural-minor key contains all 4 notes of Cmaj7#5. Chords like this arrive as borrowed harmony — secondary dominants, harmonic-minor colour, or chromatic passing chords — rather than as one of a key's native chords.
How do you play Cmaj7#5 on guitar and piano?: This page shows Cmaj7#5 on guitar and piano — 4 voicings in total. Each diagram links to the full instrument page with alternate shapes, audio and common mistakes.

Learn the theory behind it

Why Cmaj7♯5 behaves the way it does — the guides that explain the chord instead of just spelling it.

Borrowed Chords and Modal Mixture — Stealing from Parallel KeysThe raised fifth comes from outside the key. This is where chords like it are borrowed from.7 min read Functional Harmony: Three Roles, One EngineThat sharpened fifth is a pull toward the next chord — here is the mechanism.6 min read Intervals — The Only Music Theory You Actually NeedTwo stacked major thirds, and the symmetry that makes it feel homeless.5 min read