Ab major piano chord, notes and fingering.

The Ab major piano chord is made of three notes: Ab, C and Eb. Press them together and you are playing Ab major. It is a root (Ab), a major third (C, four semitones above the root) and a perfect fifth (Eb, seven semitones above). On a chord chart it is written simply as Ab, with no letters after it.

How to play Ab major on piano

1. Find Ab on the keyboard. Ab is the middle black key of the group of three, between G and A. It is the same key as G#.
2. With your right hand, put finger 1 on Ab, finger 3 on C and finger 5 on Eb. Finger 1 is the thumb.
3. Press all three keys together. In root position they run from Ab3 to Eb4, a reach of 7 semitones. Play chord sounds them together and Arpeggio sounds them one by one, from the bottom up.
4. Click Left hand to see the left hand. It plays Ab2 to Eb3, one octave lower: Ab with finger 5, C with finger 3, Eb with finger 1.
5. The cards under the keyboard hold the three positions, with Ab, C and Eb at the bottom in turn. Play and Arpeggio on a card play that position.
6. Open Note names. As written the keys read Ab, C and Eb. Sharps shows G#, C and D#, and Flats shows Ab, C and Eb. This chord is written with flats, so As written and Flats match.

How Ab major is built

Counted from the root, the formula is 0, 4, 7. Stacked on each other the gaps are 4 + 3: a major third (Ab to C) with a minor third (C to Eb) on top. Lower the middle note by one semitone, C to Cb, and the chord turns into Ab minor.

Worked example: the pitch of Ab3. On a piano tuned to A4 = 440 Hz, a note 13 semitones below A4 has the frequency 440 × 2^(-13/12), which is about 207.65 Hz. C4 is 9 semitones below A4, so 440 × 2^(-9/12) gives about 261.63 Hz.

Ab major and G# major are the same chord on the keyboard: the same three keys sound for both. Written as G# major it reads G#, B# and D#. The key of Ab major has 4 flats, while the key of G# major would need double accidentals.

What the keys look like under your hand

The white keys beside Ab are G on the left and A on the right, a semitone each way. Two of the three notes are black keys (Ab and Eb) and one is a white key (C). Your thumb lands on Ab, a black key with G and A beside it. Keep the thumb relaxed and slightly curved, and let the wrist stay level instead of twisting to reach. Your little finger plays Eb, a black key with D and E beside it. The little finger is short, so let the hand lean a little toward its edge and aim for the middle of the key.

Ab major inversions and fingering

Ab major has three positions. In root position Ab is at the bottom. In the first inversion, C is at the bottom and the chord is written Ab/C. In the second inversion, Eb is at the bottom and the chord is written Ab/Eb. The tightest reach, 7 semitones from the lowest key to the highest, is the root position. The widest, at 9, is the second inversion.

The keys that hold Ab major

Ab major fits six of the major and natural minor keys that have a standard key signature, which means every note of it comes from that key's scale. The simplest is Eb major, with 3 flats, where it is chord IV.

Progressions that use Ab major, with the chord numbers and the chords in that key:

• Eb major: I-IV-V-I, which is Eb, Ab, Bb, Eb, the three-chord cadence of folk, rock and blues.
• C minor: i-VI-III-VII, which is Cm, Ab, Eb, Bb, a common minor-key loop.
• Ab major: I-V-vi-IV, which is Ab, Eb, Fm, Db, the four-chord loop heard in a great deal of pop.

Here is a worked example in Eb major. The chord before Ab major in the first progression above is Eb (Eb, G and Bb). From Eb in root position, the closest way to reach Ab major is its second inversion (Eb, Ab and C, lowest note first): one note stays where it is, and the others move 3 semitones in total, counting each note against the note in the same place from the bottom.

What Ab major sounds like

Major chords sound bright and settled, which is why songs so often end on one. In a major key the major chords are I, IV and V, and those three alone can carry a great many songs. A major triad is also the first chord most pianists learn.

You will meet Ab major as the IV chord in Eb major, the VI chord in C minor and the I chord in Ab major.

A common mistake with Ab major

A common mistake is pressing Cb instead of C, one semitone lower than the third of Ab major. That turns the chord into Abm (Ab, Cb and Eb). If your Ab chord sounds sad, check the middle finger first.

Chords to learn next

Chords close to Ab major: Ab minor, listed as G# minor (same root, with a minor third; shares Ab and Eb); Ab7 (adds a flat seventh; contains all its notes); Abmaj7 (adds a major seventh; contains all its notes); F minor (its relative minor; shares Ab and C).

Once Ab major feels easy, play it and then Abm to hear what one note changes. For chords beyond these six types, and for guitar and ukulele shapes, use the chord finder. To play along with your computer keys, open the virtual piano. The piano chords page lists all 72 chords.