Ways to play A♭9
Lowest on the neck first. Tap a shape to put it on the fretboard above and hear it. The numbers are fingers (1 is your index), × means leave that string out, and ○ means let it ring open.
What's in A♭9
A dominant 9th is a dominant 7th with the 9th stacked on top: A♭9 is A♭, C, E♭, G♭, B♭. Five notes on six strings means something gets dropped, usually the 5th, and most guitar 9th shapes leave it out.
| Note | Formula | Interval from A♭ |
|---|---|---|
| A♭ | 1 | Root |
| C | 3 | Major 3rd |
| E♭ | 5 | Perfect 5th |
| G♭ | ♭7 | Minor 7th |
| B♭ | 9 | Major 9th |
Smooth, with some bite from the ♭7. It is the classic funk rhythm chord, and in blues it stands in for a plain dominant 7th.
Keys that use A♭9
Every major and minor key whose scale contains all of A♭, C, E♭, G♭ and B♭, and the chord's Roman numeral in each.
| Key | A♭9 is the |
|---|---|
| D♭ major | V9 |
| B♭ minor | VII9 |
Progressions to try
Related chords
Other chords on A♭: