A♭7 chord
A♭7 is A♭, C, E♭ and G♭: 1–3–5–♭7 built on A♭. Below: guitar, piano and ukulele, each playable.
On guitar
4-6-4-5-4-4 · barre · medium
- Notes
- A♭ · C · E♭ · G♭
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7
- First shape
- 4-6-4-5-4-4
A♭7 on guitar: every shape, finger by finger
On piano
root position · A♭–C–E♭–G♭ · right hand 1-2-3-5
- Notes
- A♭ · C · E♭ · G♭
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7
A♭7 on piano: fingering and inversions
On ukulele
1-3-2-3 · movable · medium
- Notes
- A♭ · C · E♭ · G♭
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7
- First shape
- 1-3-2-3
Changing out of A♭7
The moves below are the ones you'll meet most, shown for guitar and piano.
- A♭7 → C♯ (the V7 pulls home a fifth below)
Guitar: A♭7 (4-6-4-5-4-4) to C♯ (x-4-6-6-6-4): the index finger lays across the A to high E strings at the 4th fret, the middle finger goes to the D string, 6th fret, your ring finger lands on the G string, 6th fret, the pinky finger comes down on the B string, 6th fret. Everything moves: lift the whole hand and place the new shape in one go. Listen for A♭, which stays put while the rest moves.
Piano: A♭7 to C♯: play C♯ in 2nd inversion (G♯–C♯–E♯) and G♯ stays under the same finger, while C moves up to C♯ and G♭ down to E♯. C♯ - A♭7 → C♯maj7 (I in D♭ major)
Guitar: A♭7 (4-6-4-5-4-4) to C♯maj7 (x-4-6-5-6-4): your middle finger stays put, the index finger lays across the A to high E strings at the 4th fret, the ring finger slides across to the D string at the same fret, the pinky finger comes down on the B string, 6th fret. A♭ and C carry over from one chord to the other.
Piano: A♭7 to C♯maj7: play C♯maj7 in 2nd inversion (G♯–B♯–C♯–E♯) and G♯ and B♯ stay under the same fingers, while E♭ moves down to C♯ and G♭ down to E♯. C♯maj7 - A♭7 → B♭m7 (vi in D♭ major)
Guitar: A♭7 (4-6-4-5-4-4) to B♭m7 (x-1-3-1-2-1): the index finger lays across the A to high E strings at the 1st fret, the middle finger goes to the B string, 2nd fret, move the ring finger to the D string, 3rd fret. Everything moves: lift the whole hand and place the new shape in one go. The two chords share A♭, which is why the change sounds smooth.
Piano: A♭7 to B♭m7: play B♭m7 in 3rd inversion (A♭–B♭–D♭–F) and A♭ stays under the same finger, while C moves down to B♭, E♭ down to D♭ and G♭ down to F. B♭m7
Guitar with a capo: capo 1, G7 shape; capo 4, E7 shape; capo 6, D7 shape. Ukulele with a capo: capo 1, G7 shape; capo 4, E7 shape; capo 6, D7 shape.
How A♭7 is built
A♭7 is a dominant seventh chord: a major triad with a flattened seventh on top. It sounds restless and wants to move, most strongly to C♯, the chord a fifth below. It is also the backbone of the blues, where every chord can be a seventh.
Start on A♭, count 4 half steps up to C, 3 half steps up to E♭ then 3 half steps up to G♭. You may also see it as G♯7: same keys, same frets.
| Note | Role | Half steps | Hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| A♭ | root | 0 | |
| C | major third | 4 | |
| E♭ | perfect fifth | 7 | |
| G♭ | minor seventh | 10 |
Keys and progressions with A♭7
A♭7 belongs to 3 keys: V7 in D♭ major, V7 in C♯ minor (borrowing the raised 7th) and VII7 in B♭ minor.
In A♭ major, I7–IV7–V7 (12 bars) is A♭7 – A♭7 – A♭7 – A♭7 – D♭7 – D♭7 – A♭7 – A♭7 – E♭7 – D♭7 – A♭7 – E♭7. the 12-bar blues
ii–V–I in D♭ major runs E♭m7 – A♭7 – D♭maj7. the jazz cadence
Chords close to A♭7
- A♭7 is A♭ plus G♭. A♭
- A♭7 and A♭maj7 differ by one note: G♭ in A♭7, G in A♭maj7. They share A♭, C and E♭. A♭maj7
Chords that share most of their notes with A♭7: A♭9, Cdim, A♭, Cdim7, Cm7♭5, E♭m6.
Every A♭ chord
A♭7 chord: questions
What notes are in the A♭7 chord?
A♭, C, E♭ and G♭. A♭7 is built 1–3–5–♭7 from A♭: C is the major third, E♭ is the perfect fifth and G♭ is the minor seventh.
How do you play A♭7 on guitar?
The usual shape is 4-6-4-5-4-4 (barre). All 4 guitar shapes.
How do you play A♭7 on piano?
Play A♭, C, E♭ and G♭ with right-hand fingers 1-2-3-5. A♭ sits on the middle black key of the three. Inversions and left hand.
How do you play A♭7 on ukulele?
1-3-2-3 in standard GCEA tuning. More ukulele shapes.
What key is A♭7 in?
A♭7 belongs to 3 keys: V7 in D♭ major, V7 in C♯ minor (borrowing the raised 7th) and VII7 in B♭ minor.
What's the difference between A♭7 and A♭?
A♭7 is A♭ plus G♭.
Every diagram on this page is generated from the notes A♭, C, E♭ and G♭ and checked automatically so the sound matches the drawing. Updated September 2026.