How To Play A Flat Chord On Guitar?
In today's lesson, we'll go over 5 distinct ways to play the A flat major chord or Ab chord on guitar.
We'll discover the most popular ways to play the chord and inversions, each with its own chord diagram example, as well as tips to make smooth chord transitions. We'll also discuss chord theory, how it gets its name, how to use it, and some killer songs to practice to.
Ab Major Chord With (1 Finger Barre)
The easiest way to play A flat major on guitar is actually a barre chord! All you're going to do is bar across one fret with one finger.
- Simply place your first finger on the first fret of the 4th string and bar across strings 2 - 4.
Where this voicing is not in root position it would be considered an inversion. Inversions simply mean the root note of a chord (in this case, the Ab note) is not the bass note.
When an inversion is written, it is often referred to as a slash chord, such as Ab/Eb. This simply means play the Eb (e flat) but have the Eb note as the lowest note.
Play The Ab Chord Without Barre
The next voicing for the Ab chord is a killer way to prepare your hands for barre chords. To play, place your:
- Index finger on the low e (sixth) string, sixth fret
- Third finger on the 5th string, eighth fret
- Fourth finger on the 4th string, eighth fret
- Middle finger on the third string, fifth fret
Playing Ab Major Chord With Barre Chords
Most Popular Ab Barre Chord (E Shape)
Similar to the shape above, this example is going to be exactly the same, but you will simply press your index finger to the side as your other fingers squeeze in. You will be barring across all the strings, and as far as barre chords for major chords, this is the most popular voicing.
Ab Barre Chord (A Shape)
This is going to be similar to the first Ab chord we learned, but this time, we are going to jump up an octave to the 13th fret. To play:
- Use your ring finger to barre
- Then place your index finger on fifth string, 11th fret
- Now, strum from the fifth string down
If this chord feels like it’s kind of a stretch, it’s probably because your thumb is in the wrong place. (see video)
Ab Major Triad
This last example is an A flat chord but would also be considered an A flat major triad. While both a major chord and a triad have three notes, the notes of a chord can repeat, and a triad only gets one of each, so it will be played on only three strings.
Place your:
- Second finger on the first string, 8th fret
- Third finger on second string, 9th fret
- First finger on third string, 8th fret
While you can barre this shape, it's highly recommended to not do this. There's no benefit, but it does cause slow, sloppy playing for lead guitar, and if we ever decide to work together, it's a pain in my ass to get you to stop. :)
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Ab Chord Tips
Tip #1
The #1 mistake players make in learning how to play new chords is that they don't memorize them. If you have to constantly look at where to place your fingers, your mind/body won't develop proper coordination. Focus on learning just a few chords at a given time.
Tip #2
To learn the Ab major chord, play the chord very slowly so that all your fingers attack the strings simultaneously. Your chord changes will always be slow if you place your fingers on the fretboard one at a time.
Tip #3
Be sure your thumb is in the correct position. The #1 reason why players struggle with chords, have stiff fingers, think they have small hands, etc.. is due to a simple two-second fix... The thumb needs to be in the correct position. If it's on the outside of your index finger, your hand will not work properly.
Easy Songs Using A Flat Major
Greenday - American Idiot
Greenday - Holiday
Megadeth - She Wolf
Note, the A flat major chords aren't the most popular chords when playing rock or metal, as it's quite common to tune down a half step and then play an A major. The reason is because with the down tune, it sounds the same, but you'll be able to use the open A string.
Ab Major Guitar Chord Theory
Now, let’s break down the theory of the Ab chord so you can better understand how to use it.
The Ab major chord is built from the A major scale, also written as A flat major scale: Ab Bb C Db Eb F G. When reading standard notation or charts, you'll know if the song is in the key of Ab because at the beginning of the music, the key signature will show four flats.
Now, to understand the chord formula, you need to understand "scale degrees," which is simply numbering the notes of the scale starting with the root note.
When teaching theory, guitar teachers often reference the piano due to the simplicity of the layout of piano keys, especially where the A flat major scale uses a lot of black keys. But I think the illustration below will do:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Ab Bb C Db Eb F G
As you can see, I have bolded the notes of the Ab major scale that are used to create an A flat major chord. In music theory, we need the 1 3 5 scale degrees of a major scale to create a major chord. You must have these three notes Ab C Eb (no more, no less) to make an Ab chord.
Now you know a few ways to play the Ab major chord and understand some Ab chord theory!
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