Ab Ab major chord
- Notes
- Ab C Eb
- Formula
- 1 3 5
- Semitones
- 0 4 7 above the root
- Also written
- G# (G# B# D#)
- Other symbols
- AbM, Abmaj
Ab to C is a major third (4 semitones), C to Eb is a minor third (3 semitones). The major triad: a major third with a minor third on top, the tonic chord of the key of Ab major.
Ab on the piano
Root position from Ab4: Ab4, C5, Eb5. Middle C is C4.
Ab 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.
4 6 6 5 4 4 (low E to high e)
Sounds Ab2 Eb3 Ab3 C4 Eb4 Ab4
x 11 13 13 13 11 (low E to high e)
Sounds Ab3 Eb4 Ab4 C5 Eb5
The E-shape and A-shape grips 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 chords on other roots.
Ab on the ukulele
Standard ukulele tuning is G C E A, drawn with the G string on the left and frets downwards, as ukulele chord charts show it. The G string is tuned higher than the C string (G4 above middle C, a fifth over C4), so the lowest note you hear is usually on the C or E string, not on the G string, and a shape can sound as an inversion even when its root is on the G string. All four strings are strummed, so every string plays a chord tone; the root is in blue-green.
1343 (G C E A)
Sounds Ab4 Eb4 Ab4 C5
Lowest note Eb4, so the chord finder reads it as Ab/Eb (second inversion).
5046 (G C E A)
Sounds C5 C4 Ab4 Eb5
Lowest note C4, so the chord finder reads it as Ab/C (first inversion).
Inversions of Ab
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.
| Position | Notes, bass first | Named | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root position | Ab C Eb | Ab | |
| 1st inversion | C Eb Ab | Ab/C | |
| 2nd inversion | Eb Ab C | Ab/Eb |
Where Ab fits
Ab is I in Ab major, IV in Eb major, V in Db major, V in C# minor (where it is spelled G#). As V in a minor key it comes from the harmonic minor scale, whose raised seventh degree is this chord's third, C.