The Ab7 (A flat dominant 7) chord contains the notes Ab, C, Eb and Gb. It is produced by taking the root (1), 3, 5 and b7 of the Ab Major scale. It is essentially an Ab chord, with an added flat 7.
Ab7 is most commonly played as a bar chord in the 4th fret (first shape below).
Ab7 is short for Ab dominant 7. The dominant 7 chord is a significant chord, because it plays a very important function in any given key.
The dominant 7 chord functions as a chord that resolves to the first chord in a key. For example, the Ab dominant 7 chord resolves to the Db Major chord (which is the first chord in the key of Db)
10 Ways To Play The Ab7 Chord
If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for Ab7, here they are.
Some Quick A Flat 7 Chord Theory
- The Ab7 chord contains the notes Ab, C, Eb and Gb.
- Ab7 is short for A flat dominant 7.
- The Ab7 chord is produced by taking the 1 (root), 3, 5 and b7 of the A flat Major scale.
- The Ab7 is the fifth chord in the key of Db. It resolves naturally to the Db Major chord.
- The Ab7 chord (just like all dominant 7 chords) contains the following intervals (starting from the root note): major 3rd, minor 3rd, minor 3rd, tone (which leads back to the root note).
- The Ab mixolydian mode can be used when soloing over the Ab dominant 7 chord.