# A♭ Major piano chord (A♭)

A♭ contains A♭, C and E♭. A major third with a perfect fifth above the root. A♭ and E♭ are black keys; C is white.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/major/a-flat/
- Entity: chord:major:a-flat
- Notes: A♭ C E♭
- Formula: 1 3 5
- Intervals from root: P1, M3, P5
- Interval stack (semitones): 4 3
- Also written: A♭, Ab, A♭ major
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | A♭ | Perfect unison | 0 |
| 3 | C | Major third | 4 |
| 5 | E♭ | Perfect fifth | 7 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on A♭, finger 3 on C, finger 5 on E♭. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-3-5, left hand 5-3-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | A♭ | A♭3 C4 E♭4 | 5/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| First inversion (A♭/C) | C | C4 E♭4 A♭4 | 6/3 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Second inversion (A♭/E♭) | E♭ | E♭4 A♭4 C5 | 6/4 | 9 st, 124 mm |

## Voicings (5)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | A♭3 C4 E♭4 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | C4 E♭4 A♭4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | E♭4 A♭4 C5 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Open, fifth on top | A♭2 E♭3 C4 | 16 st, 220 mm | identical | none |
| Root and third only | A♭3 C4 | 4 st, 55 mm | subset | omits E♭ |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C minor | ♭VI | Pre-dominant color |
| D♭ major | V | Dominant, wants to resolve |
| E♭ major | IV | Subdominant, away from home |
| F minor | ♭III | Relative-major color |
| A♭ major | I | Tonic, home |
| B♭ minor | ♭VII | Subtonic |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (8)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ♭VI, iv, i, v | C minor | ♭VI | A♭ to Fm to Cm to Gm | A♭ opens the phrase |
| i, ♭VI | C minor | ♭VI | Cm to A♭ | 2 tones held from Cm |
| V, I | D♭ major | V | A♭ to D♭ | A♭ opens the phrase |
| ii, V, I | D♭ major | V | E♭m to A♭ to D♭ | 1 tone held from E♭m |
| IV, V, I | E♭ major | IV | A♭ to B♭ to E♭ | A♭ opens the phrase |
| I, IV | E♭ major | IV | E♭ to A♭ | 1 tone held from E♭ |
| ♭III, ♭VI, ii°, v | F minor | ♭III | A♭ to D♭ to Gdim to Cm | A♭ opens the phrase |
| i, ♭III | F minor | ♭III | Fm to A♭ | 2 tones held from Fm |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| A♭maj7 | 1 3 5 7 | adds G | 3 |
| A♭7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | adds G♭ | 3 |
| A♭6 | 1 3 5 6 | adds F | 3 |
| A♭add9 | 1 3 5 9 | adds B♭ | 3 |
| A♭m | 1 ♭3 5 | C becomes C♭ | 2 |
| A♭aug | 1 3 ♯5 | E♭ becomes E | 2 |
| A♭sus2 | 1 2 5 | C becomes B♭ | 2 |
| A♭sus4 | 1 4 5 | C becomes D♭ | 2 |
| A♭m7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | C becomes C♭, G♭ | 2 |
| A♭mMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | C becomes C♭, G | 2 |
| A♭aug7 | 1 3 ♯5 ♭7 | E♭ becomes E, G♭ | 2 |
| A♭7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | C becomes D♭, G♭ | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {8, 0, 3}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 4, 7]
- Normal order: [8, 0, 3]
- Prime form: (037)
- Forte number: 3-11
- Interval vector: <001110>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A♭3 | 56 | 207.65 Hz |
| C4 | 60 | 261.63 Hz |
| E♭4 | 63 | 311.13 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in A♭?

A♭ contains A♭, C and E♭. The formula is 1, 3, 5.

### How do you play A♭ on piano?

Play A♭, C and E♭ together. Right hand fingers 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1. A♭ and E♭ are black keys; C is white.

### What are the inversions of A♭?

3 positions: root position A♭ C E♭, A♭/C, A♭/E♭.

### What keys contain A♭?

6: ♭VI in C minor, V in D♭ major, IV in E♭ major, ♭III in F minor, I in A♭ major, ♭VII in B♭ minor.

### What is the difference between A♭ and A♭maj7?

Adds G. 3 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy A♭ for small hands?

The root and third only voicing, A♭3 C4, spans 4 semitones or about 55 mm.

### What are the frequencies of A♭?

From A♭3 at A440 in 12-TET: 207.65, 261.63, 311.13 Hz.

### What is the set class of A♭?

Prime form (037), Forte 3-11, interval vector &lt;001110&gt;.

### How do I transpose A♭ to another key?

Keep the 1, 3, 5 formula on the new root. C is C, E, G; C♯ is C♯, E♯, G♯.

### Is G♯ the same as A♭?

Enharmonically yes: the same piano keys and the same sound, spelled differently.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:major:a-flat
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12