semicord

Abmaj7 Ab major seventh chord

Notes
Ab C Eb G
Formula
1 3 5 7
Semitones
0 4 7 11 above the root
Also written
G#maj7 (G# B# D# F##)
Other symbols
AbM7, AbΔ7

Ab to C is a major third (4 semitones), C to Eb is a minor third (3 semitones), Eb to G is a major third (4 semitones). A major triad plus the note a half step below the root (G). It has no tritone, so it sounds settled and soft rather than restless like Ab7.

Abmaj7 on the piano

C4D4E4F4G4A4B4C5D5E5F5G5A5B5C#4Eb4F#4Ab4Bb4C#5Eb5F#5Ab5Bb5C4AbCC5EbG

Root position from Ab4: Ab4, C5, Eb5, G5. Middle C is C4.

Abmaj7 on the guitar

Standard tuning (E A D G B E). Strings run low E on the left to high e on the right, frets downwards; × is a muted string, ○ an open string, and each dot shows the note it sounds, with the root in blue-green. Every shape below has Ab as its lowest note.

AbAb×GGCCEbEb×
E-shape barre, root on the E string at fret 4
4 x 5 5 4 x (low E to high e)
Sounds Ab2 G3 C4 Eb4
11fr×AbAbEbEbGGCCEbEb
A-shape barre, root on the A string at fret 11
x 11 13 12 13 11 (low E to high e)
Sounds Ab3 Eb4 G4 C5 Eb5

The barre shapes are movable: an E-shape chord's root is the note under your first finger on the low E string, an A-shape chord's root is the note on the A string. Slide the same grip up or down to play major seventh chords on other roots.

Inversions of Abmaj7

An inversion puts a note other than the root in the bass. The name is what semicord's chord finder calls those notes played bottom to top; a slash name like C/E means a C chord with E in the bass.

PositionNotes, bass firstNamedListen
Root positionAb C Eb GAbmaj7
1st inversionC Eb G AbAbmaj7/C
2nd inversionEb G Ab CAbmaj7/Eb
3rd inversionG Ab C EbAb/G (also read as Abmaj7/G)

Where Abmaj7 fits

Abmaj7 is Imaj7 in Ab major, IVmaj7 in Eb major.