# A♭ Minor piano chord (A♭m)

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

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/minor/a-flat/
- Entity: chord:minor:a-flat
- Notes: A♭ C♭ E♭
- Formula: 1 ♭3 5
- Intervals from root: P1, m3, P5
- Interval stack (semitones): 3 4
- Also written: A♭m, Abm, A♭ minor
- 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♭ | Minor third | 3 |
| 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 C♭3 E♭4 | 5/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| First inversion (A♭m/C♭) | C♭ | C♭3 E♭4 A♭4 | 6/3 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Second inversion (A♭m/E♭) | E♭ | E♭4 A♭4 C♭4 | 6/4 | 8 st, 110 mm |

## Voicings (5)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | A♭3 C♭3 E♭4 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | C♭3 E♭4 A♭4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | E♭4 A♭4 C♭4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Open, fifth on top | A♭2 E♭3 C♭3 | 15 st, 206 mm | identical | none |
| Root and third only | A♭3 C♭3 | 3 st, 41 mm | subset | omits E♭ |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C♯ minor | v | Minor dominant |
| E♭ minor | iv | Subdominant |
| E major | iii | Tonic substitute |
| G♭ major | ii | Predominant |
| G♯ minor | i | Tonic, home |
| B major | vi | Tonic substitute |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (7)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| v, i | C♯ minor | v | G♯m to C♯m | A♭m opens the phrase |
| ii°, v, i | C♯ minor | v | D♯dim to G♯m to C♯m | 1 tone held from D♯dim |
| iv, v, i | E♭ minor | iv | A♭m to B♭m to E♭m | A♭m opens the phrase |
| i, iv | E♭ minor | iv | E♭m to A♭m | 1 tone held from E♭m |
| iii, vi, ii, V | E major | iii | G♯m to C♯m to F♯m to B | A♭m opens the phrase |
| I, iii | E major | iii | E to G♯m | 2 tones held from E |
| ii, V, I | G♭ major | ii | A♭m to D♭ to G♭ | A♭m opens the phrase |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| A♭m7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | adds G♭ | 3 |
| A♭mMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | adds G | 3 |
| A♭m6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | adds F | 3 |
| A♭ | 1 3 5 | C♭ becomes C | 2 |
| A♭dim | 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♭maj7 | 1 3 5 7 | C♭ becomes C, G | 2 |
| A♭7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | C♭ becomes C, G♭ | 2 |
| A♭m7♭5 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 | E♭ becomes E♭♭, G♭ | 2 |
| A♭dim7 | 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, 11, 3}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 7]
- Normal order: [8, 11, 3]
- Prime form: (037)
- Forte number: 3-11
- Interval vector: <001110>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A♭3 | 56 | 207.65 Hz |
| C♭3 | 59 | 246.94 Hz |
| E♭4 | 63 | 311.13 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in A♭m?

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

### How do you play A♭m 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♭m?

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

### What keys contain A♭m?

6: v in C♯ minor, iv in E♭ minor, iii in E major, ii in G♭ major, i in G♯ minor, vi in B major.

### What is the difference between A♭m and A♭m7?

Adds G♭. 3 of the notes are shared.

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

The root and third only voicing, A♭3 C♭3, spans 3 semitones or about 41 mm.

### What are the frequencies of A♭m?

From A♭3 at A440 in 12-TET: 207.65, 246.94, 311.13 Hz.

### What is the set class of A♭m?

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

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

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

### Is G♯m the same as A♭m?

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:minor:a-flat
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12