A♭maj7

A♭1C3E♭5G7

Major triad with a major seventh: a half step below the root, an octave up.

Written the other way round it is G♯maj7 — the same twelve keys on a piano, a different piece of notation.

on guitar on piano the scale

Every fingering that fits a hand

Fig. 2

1033

open · no 5

Fig. 3

103x

open · no 5

Fig. 4

1333

moderate

Fig. 5

x88a

moderate · barre · no 5

What is true of it

A♭maj7 is A♭, C, E♭ and G — 1, 3, 5 and 7 counted from A♭.

On an instrument that cannot reach all 4, the 5 goes first, in that order.

The easiest of the 4 fingerings below is 1033: 3 fingers, held at the 1st fret.

2 of them use open strings, which is what makes a shape quiet to change to.

1 of the 4 need a barre.

It leaves out the 5. 4 strings cannot carry 4 notes, and the 5 is the one this chord can lose without changing what it is.

Where its notes are on the neck

Fig. 6 — first 12 frets

The brass dots are A♭, the root. Everything else is a chord tone with its degree printed in it.

With a different note underneath

first inversion

A♭maj7/C

5746

second inversion

A♭maj7/E♭

888a

third inversion

A♭maj7/G

004x

An inversion is the same chord with a different note lowest. The name changes to a slash name because the bass is what a listener hears as the foundation.

A♭ in other shapes

A♭7dominant seventh A♭m7minor seventh A♭m(maj7)minor major seventh A♭major A♭mminor A♭dimdiminished

Cmaj7 C♯maj7 D♭maj7 Dmaj7 D♯maj7 E♭maj7 Emaj7 Fmaj7 all 374