A♭maj7 chord on guitar

A♭maj7 is A♭, C, E♭ and G. The usual shape is 4-6-5-5-4-4, a barre at the 4th fret. Play it once at full speed, then at a quarter to hear every note.

4-6-5-5-4-4 · barre · medium

Notes: A♭ · C · E♭ · G
Formula: 1 · 3 · 5 · 7
First shape: 4-6-5-5-4-4

How to play A♭maj7 on guitar

Shape 1, 4-6-5-5-4-4, 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 D string at the 5th fret, which is G.
Put your ring finger on the G string at the 5th fret, which is C.
Put your pinky finger on the A string at the 6th fret, which is E♭.

Let your arm do some of the work: a slight pull back from the elbow presses the barre without squeezing the thumb.
This shape uses your pinky. It feels weak at first; press with the tip and let the finger stay curved.

Other ways to play A♭maj7

x-x-6-5-4-3: movable shape at the 3rd fret, medium. A small shape for quick changes and a lighter sound.
x-11-13-12-13-11: barre shape at the 11th fret, medium. The root is on the A string; it's the Amaj7 shape moved up the neck.
x-11-10-8-8-8: partial barre shape at the 8th fret, medium. A high voicing for when the low version is taken by another instrument.

Capo shortcuts for A♭maj7

No barre needed if a capo is allowed: capo on the 1st fret and play the open Gmaj7 shape (3-2-0-0-0-2), capo on the 3rd fret and play the open Fmaj7 shape (x-x-3-2-1-0), capo on the 4th fret and play the open Emaj7 shape (0-2-1-1-0-0) or capo on the 6th fret and play the open Dmaj7 shape (x-x-0-2-2-2). The chord sounds as A♭maj7 because the capo raises every string by a half step.

Changing from A♭maj7 to the chords around it

The chords A♭maj7 usually goes to, and what changes under your fingers.

C♯maj7 (IV in A♭ major): A♭maj7 (4-6-5-5-4-4) to C♯maj7 (x-4-6-5-6-4): the index finger lays across the A to high E strings at the 4th fret, the middle finger slides across to the G string at the same fret, the ring finger goes to the D string, 6th fret. Nothing carries over, so drill it slowly, lifting and landing all fingers at once. Listen for A♭ and C, which stay put while the rest moves. C♯maj7 on guitar
E♭7 (V in A♭ major): A♭maj7 (4-6-5-5-4-4) to E♭7 (x-x-1-3-2-3): move the index finger to the D string, 1st fret, your middle finger lands on the B string, 2nd fret, the ring finger goes to the G string, 3rd fret. No finger can stay, so practice lifting all of them together and landing the new shape as a unit. Shared notes: E♭ and G. E♭7 on guitar
Fm7 (vi in A♭ major): A♭maj7 (4-6-5-5-4-4) to Fm7 (1-3-1-1-1-1): the index finger lays across the low E to high E strings at the 1st fret, move the middle finger to the A string, 3rd fret. Shared notes: A♭, C and E♭. Fm7 on guitar

A♭maj7 is a major seventh chord: a major triad with the note a half step below the octave added. A♭maj7 works as a relaxed home chord; swap it in for plain A♭ at the end of a phrase. The slow arpeggio button above makes that quality easy to hear.

A short A♭maj7 drill

Before strumming, play 4-6-5-5-4-4 note by note: A♭ then E♭ then G then C then E♭ then A♭. A dead note tells you exactly which finger to fix. Then switch to x-x-6-5-4-3 and back four times without looking at your hand.

Written G♯maj7, it's the same chord with the same frets.

Keys and progressions with A♭maj7

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

A♭maj7 on piano and ukulele

The same notes on another instrument: A♭maj7 on piano and A♭maj7 on ukulele. This page puts all three side by side.

Close to A♭maj7

Other major seventh chords

A♭maj7 on guitar: questions

What notes are in A♭maj7 on guitar?

A♭, C, E♭ and G. In the 4-6-5-5-4-4 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♭maj7 on guitar?

In standard tuning A♭maj7 can't use open strings. Begin with x-x-6-5-4-3. It uses 4 fingers and no barre, and in many songs a capo can take over part of the work.

Is A♭maj7 a barre chord on guitar?

In its standard form, yes. 4-6-5-5-4-4 has your index finger across the 4th fret. x-x-6-5-4-3 avoids the barre.

Which string does A♭maj7 start on?

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

Checked automatically: no shape here plays a note outside A♭maj7. Updated September 2026.