Guitar chords · Major 7th
A♭maj7 chord on guitar (Abmaj7)
A♭maj7 (A♭ major 7th) has four notes: A♭, C, E♭ and G, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., 3, 5 and 7.
Shapes
How to play A♭maj7
Strum a shape to hear it, or pick it one string at a time. R marks the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7.; the other numbers are the chord tones.
A♭maj7 has no common A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em.. Play it as the E shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 4 or the A shape at fret 11. A A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major. keeps its fingering anywhere on the neck: slide it up or down and the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., on the lowest played string, names the chord.
E shape · fret 4
A shape · fret 11
Notes and formula
What makes A♭maj7 major 7th
A major A triad with one more 3rd on top, the 7th, which makes four notes: G7, Cmaj7 and Am7 are seventh chords. adds the note a The smallest distance in Western music: one fret on the guitar, such as E to F or F to F♯. below the The distance of twelve half steps, where a note comes round to the same name. Twelve frets up a string is an octave. to a major chord. It sounds soft, open and a little dreamy, at home in jazz, bossa nova and soul.
- 1Root: the note the chord is named after. Keep it.
- 3Essential: makes the chord what it is. Never drop it.
- 5Optional: drop it first when you run out of fingers.
The 3rd and the 7th make A♭maj7 a major A triad with one more 3rd on top, the 7th, which makes four notes: G7, Cmaj7 and Am7 are seventh chords.; you can leave out the 5th.
- A♭Rroot
- C3essential
- E♭5optional
- G7essential
- A♭, the root
- Other chord tones
A♭maj7 and G♯maj7 are the same chord with two names: same The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step., same sound. Which one you see depends on the key the song is written in.
Keys
Keys with A♭maj7
A♭maj7 belongs to four keys: A♭ major (Imaj7), E♭ major (IVmaj7), F minor (IIImaj7) and C minor (VImaj7).
Numerals follow the key's own scale, so III, VI and VII in a minor key are its own major chords. A ♭ or ♯ in front marks a chord from outside the key. How Roman numerals work
Progressions
Progressions with A♭maj7
Common progressions that use A♭maj7, each in a key that spells it A♭maj7. The outlined chord is A♭maj7.
Jazz ii–V–I in A♭ major
ii7 – V7 – Imaj7
- B♭m7
- E♭7
- A♭maj7
Each chord falls a fifth to the next — a walk anticlockwise around the circle.
Heard in Autumn Leaves, Fly Me to the Moon
Slash chords
A♭maj7 over another bass note
A A chord with a different note in the bass, written after a slash: C/E is a C chord with E as its lowest note. The letter after the slash is the bass. keeps A♭maj7 on top and puts another note in the bass: the letter after the slash is the lowest note you play.
- A♭maj7/C
A♭maj7 with its 3rd, C, in the bass: the first inversion.
- A♭maj7/E♭
A♭maj7 with its 5th, E♭, in the bass: the second inversion.
- A♭maj7/G
A♭maj7 with its 7th, G, in the bass: the third inversion.
Same root
Other chords on G♯ / A♭
Change one or two notes and the same The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7. gives a different colour. Compare them by ear.
- A♭ major
- G♯m minor
- A♭7 dominant 7th
- G♯m7 minor 7th
- A♭sus2 suspended 2nd
- A♭sus4 suspended 4th
- A♭6 major 6th
- G♯m6 minor 6th
- A♭add9 add 9
- A♭9 dominant 9th
- A♭maj9 major 9th
- G♯m9 minor 9th
- A♭13 dominant 13th
- A♭maj13 major 13th
- G♯m11 minor 11th
- G♯° diminished
- G♯m7♭5 half-diminished 7th
- G♯°7 diminished 7th
- A♭+ augmented
- A♭5 power chord
- A♭7sus4 dominant 7th suspended 4th
- G♯m(maj7) minor major 7th
- A♭6/9 six-nine
- G♯m(add9) minor add 9
- A♭7♯9 dominant 7th sharp 9th
Questions
A♭maj7, in short
- What notes are in the A♭maj7 chord?
- A♭maj7 (A♭ major 7th) has four notes: A♭, C, E♭ and G, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., 3, 5 and 7.
- How do you play A♭maj7 on guitar?
- A♭maj7 has no common A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em.. Play it as the E shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 4 or the A shape at fret 11.
- What key is A♭maj7 in?
- A♭maj7 belongs to four keys: A♭ major (Imaj7), E♭ major (IVmaj7), F minor (IIImaj7) and C minor (VImaj7).
- Is A♭maj7 the same as G♯maj7?
- Yes: same frets, same sound, different name. A♭maj7 is the spelling in A♭ major, E♭ major, F minor and C minor. No key on the circle spells it G♯maj7, so you will rarely see that name.