A-flat Piano Chords
Here we can explore every chord built on A-flat, the middle black key of each group of three. The root stays the same from chord to chord; what changes is the distance from A-flat to the notes stacked above it, and that is what gives each chord its own quality and unique sound. Because A-flat is a black key, the right thumb and the left 5th finger start on a black key in root position, so the hand sits further in toward the fallboard than it does for chords built on white keys. A-flat and G-sharp are the same key on the piano. The chords here are spelled from A-flat; G-sharp piano chords spells the same sounds the other way, and which name a chord takes depends on the key it appears in.
The 9 chords built on A-flat
Triads built on A-flat
Four triads can be built on A-flat. Each is three notes stacked in thirds, and they differ only in their third and fifth:
- A-flat major (A♭): A-flat, C, E-flat
- A-flat minor (A♭m): A-flat, C-flat, E-flat, with the third lowered to C-flat
- A-flat diminished (A♭°): A-flat, C-flat, E-double-flat, with the fifth lowered as well, to E-double-flat
- A-flat augmented (A♭+): A-flat, C, E, with the fifth of the major chord raised to E
Try playing them in that order and listening to how a single changed note changes the sound of the whole chord.
Seventh chords built on A-flat
Adding a seventh on top of a triad gives the five seventh chords built on A-flat:
- A-flat dominant 7th (A♭7): the major triad with a minor seventh, A-flat, C, E-flat, G-flat
- A-flat major 7th (A♭maj7): the major triad with a major seventh, A-flat, C, E-flat, G
- A-flat minor 7th (A♭m7): the minor triad with a minor seventh, A-flat, C-flat, E-flat, G-flat
- A-flat half-diminished 7th (A♭ø7): the diminished triad with a minor seventh, A-flat, C-flat, E-double-flat, G-flat
- A-flat diminished 7th (A♭°7): the diminished triad with a diminished seventh, A-flat, C-flat, E-double-flat, G-double-flat
A few of these notes have names that may look unusual: C-flat is played on B, E-double-flat is played on D, and G-double-flat is played on F. Each chord keeps its notes on every other letter name, which is what makes it read as a stack of thirds on the staff.
Each chord’s own page shows it in every inversion, with fingering, keyboard charts, notation, and audio.
A-flat chords and keys
All of these chords grow from the same root, A-flat. The chords that belong together in a key are a different family, built on each note of the scale; for those, see A-flat major piano chords and G-sharp minor piano chords (on the same keys, spelled from G-sharp).