The A flat Major 7 chord (also written as Ab Maj 7) contains the notes Ab, C, Eb and G. It is produced by taking the root, 3rd, 5th and 7th of the Ab Major scale. It is essentially an A flat Major chord, with the 7th note of the Major scale added.
The Ab Major 7 chord is most commonly played with the root note on the 4th fret of the 6th string (see the first shape below).
The Major 7 chord in general is considered a kind of default chord, as it contains no altered notes of the Major scale (1, 3, 5, 7). It can also be used as a starting point, when figuring out other chords that have the same root note. For example, the Ab minor 7 chord can be produced by lowering the 3rd and 7th of the Ab Major 7 chord.
10 Ways To Play The Ab Major 7 Chord
If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for Ab Major 7, here they are.
Some Quick A Flat Major 7 Chord Theory
- The Ab Major 7 chord contains the notes Ab, C, Eb and G.
- The Ab Major 7 chord is produced by taking the 1 (root), 3, 5 and 7 of the Ab Major scale.
- The A flat Major 7 chord (just like all Major 7 chords) contains the following intervals (starting from the root note): major 3rd, minor 3rd, major 3rd, semitone (which leads back to the root note).
- The A flat Major 7 chord is the first chord in the key of A flat and the fourth chord in the key of E flat.
- The Ab Major 7 chord works well with the Fm7 chord (relative minor).
- The Ab Major scale and Ab Lydian mode can be used when soloing over the A flat Major 7 chord.
Further Reading
