1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.
A♭ major (also written G♯ major) is a major chord made of 3 notes: A♭, C, E♭. It sounds bright, settled and complete, and you hear it in the home chord of countless songs in every style. It is the I chord of A♭ major and turns up in 5 other keys.
The library above opens on A♭ with 14 shapes up and down the neck, starting with hand-checked ones. Tap a shape to hear it, or play it one string at a time.
| Note | Degree | Interval from A♭ | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| A♭ | 1 | root | 0 |
| C | 3 | major third | 4 |
| E♭ | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
Formula: 1 – 3 – 5. On guitar the 5th is often left out of the bigger shapes without changing the chord. With the other spelling, G♯ is G♯, B♯, D♯: the same sounds under different names.
466544x(11)(13)(13)(13)(11)xx654xxxx(13)(13)(11)4665xx431xxxThe fret 4 shape is the one to learn first. Once it is easy, try the shape at the 11th fret (x(11)(13)(13)(13)(11)): the same chord, higher and brighter, handy when the chords before and after it sit up the neck.
A♭ belongs to 6 keys: V in D♭ major, IV in E♭ major, I in A♭ major, VI in C minor, III in F minor, VII in B♭ minor. In A♭ major, try I–V–vi–IV: A♭ – E♭ – Fm – D♭.
A♭, C, E♭: the root, major third, fifth.
Fret 4: 4665xx (low string first), rated Easy.
A♭ has C where G♯m has B. A♭ sounds bright, settled and complete; G♯m sounds darker and more serious than a major chord.
No. The easiest shape is rated Easy and needs 4 fingers.