A♭7 chord on guitar

A♭7 is A♭, C, E♭ and G♭. The usual shape is 4-6-4-5-4-4, a barre at the 4th fret. Press Play to hear it, then try it at half speed.

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

How to play A♭7 on guitar

Shape 1, 4-6-4-5-4-4, reading from the low E string on the left, starts at the 4th fret:

Barre the 4th fret with your index finger, covering all the strings.
Put your middle finger on the G string at the 5th fret, which is C.
Put your ring finger on the A string at the 6th fret, which is E♭.

Check the barre one string at a time. A dead string under the index finger usually means the finger has drifted away from the fret wire.

Other ways to play A♭7

x-x-6-8-7-8: movable shape at the 6th fret, medium. Only the thinner strings sound, which cuts through a band without getting muddy.
x-11-13-11-13-11: barre shape at the 11th fret, medium. The root is on the A string; it's the A7 shape moved up the neck.
4-3-1-1-1-2: partial barre shape, medium. Same notes, stacked differently, so it sounds a little different.

A♭7 the capo way

A capo turns an open chord into A♭7: capo on the 1st fret and play the open G7 shape (3-2-0-0-0-1), capo on the 4th fret and play the open E7 shape (0-2-0-1-0-0) or capo on the 6th fret and play the open D7 shape (x-x-0-2-1-2). Handy when the rest of the song's chords also have open shapes in that position.

A♭7 chord changes

Songs rarely hold A♭7 for long. Here's what your hand does on the moves that come up most.

C♯ (the V7 pulls home a fifth below): 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. C♯ on guitar
C♯maj7 (I in D♭ major): 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. C♯maj7 on guitar
B♭m7 (vi in D♭ major): 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. B♭m7 on guitar

A♭7 is a dominant seventh chord: a major triad with a flattened seventh on top. Use A♭7 where you want motion: it leans toward the chord a fifth below and turns up on almost every blues. Play it once strummed and once picked to hear the difference.

Practice A♭7 in two minutes

Before strumming, play 4-6-4-5-4-4 note by note: A♭ then E♭ then G♭ then C then E♭ then A♭. A dead note tells you exactly which finger to fix. Finish by moving between 4-6-4-5-4-4 and x-x-6-8-7-8 to learn two positions of the same chord.

Written G♯7, it's the same chord with the same frets.

A♭7 in context

In A♭ major, I7–IV7–V7 (12 bars) on guitar is A♭7 (4-6-4-5-4-4), C♯7 (x-4-6-4-6-4) and E♭7 (x-x-1-3-2-3). About the 12-bar blues.

In D♭ major, ii–V–I on guitar is E♭m7 (x-x-1-3-2-2), A♭7 (4-6-4-5-4-4) and C♯maj7 (x-4-6-5-6-4). About the jazz cadence.

A♭7 on piano and ukulele

The same notes on another instrument: A♭7 on piano and A♭7 on ukulele. This page puts all three side by side.

Related A♭ chords on guitar

Other dominant seventh chords

A♭7 on guitar: questions

What notes are in A♭7 on guitar?

A♭, C, E♭ and G♭. In the 4-6-4-5-4-4 shape the strings play A♭ (low E string), E♭ (A string), G♭ (D string), C (G string), E♭ (B string) and A♭ (high E string), so A♭ and E♭ are doubled.

What's the easiest way to play A♭7 on guitar?

A♭7 has no open-string shape in standard tuning, so every version needs a barre or a stretch. Start with x-x-6-8-7-8. It uses 4 fingers and no barre, and a capo is worth trying when the song allows.

Is A♭7 a barre chord on guitar?

In its standard form, yes. 4-6-4-5-4-4 has your index finger across the 4th fret. If that's hard, try x-x-6-8-7-8.

Which string does A♭7 start on?

In the 4-6-4-5-4-4 shape the lowest string you play is the low E string at the 4th fret, which is A♭, the root.

Shapes and sound are generated from the notes A♭, C, E♭ and G♭ and tested automatically. Updated September 2026.