Guitar Chords in A Flat Major
The guitar chords in A flat Major include: Ab, Bbm, Cm, Db, Eb, Fm, & Gdim.
The key of Ab has 4 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, and Db - spells the word BEAD).
We'll keep all of these chords in first position, & include an added tone on the iii chord to help fingering.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Major Keys: C G D A E B F# Gb Db Ab Eb Bb F | Chart of Every Key
Practice
- Fretting all of the guitar chords in A flat.
- Play the scale.
- Play the 'alphabetical' Chord Scale.
- Play the progression (I-vi-ii-V7-I).
- Write your own chord progressions using the chords in A flat (which stream of chords sound good to your ear?).
The 6 in the C minor chord
6 means that we've added a 6 to the chord. The 6 of C is A. 123456 = cdefga. A is also the 13, and we could call a 6 chord a 13, but this will typically be the case when the actual tone that is the 6 is literally 13 tones away (123456789 10 11 12 13 = cdefgabcdefga). In this case, the A on the 3rd string, 2nd fret is 6 tones up from the C.
We've included the A in this C minor chord so we may bar the e flat and the c in the first fret. Without adding this A, we would simply have the tonic chord, Ab (we would be barring 3 tones in the first fret - see the I chord).
Slash chords
Some of the chords above are actually slash chords. Slash chords are like a fraction. The top symbol (on the left) is the actual chord you are playing. The bottom symbol (on the right) is a single tone that is in the bass.
The reason we didn't list these as such in the first graphic, is that typically when you see a slash chord written (as a slash chord - Ab/C), this generally means that you should use that voicing.
In our case, when we see Ab written, we have a whole bunch of options. We choose to play the voicing we think is most appropriate, and a slash chord (Ab/C) is a possibility. All of these slash chords are fragments.
When selecting which chord type to use (full, fragment), motor hand articulation often dictates this. If you are strumming, muting becomes the most important feature for fragments (not true for full 6 string chords - non-fragmented chords).
When you are fingerpicking or picking, you may or may not mute inactive strings. When you are picking the exact tones, you have a choice to mute or not to mute. Strings left unmuted may end up ringing (sympathetic vibration), so muting them may be a good idea, but not absolutely necessary due to the specific type of articulation you are using.
Major Keys: C G D A E B F# Gb Db Ab Eb Bb F | Chart of Every Key
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