A♭5 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The A♭5 chord is a power chord built on the root note A♭. Its notes are A♭ and E♭. It's enharmonically the same chord as G♯5.
Power chords have no third at all, only a root and a fifth, so they are neither major nor minor. That emptiness is the point: run one through a distorted amp and it stays clean and thick where a full triad would turn to mud.
- Notes
- A♭ · E♭
- Formula
- 1 · 5
- Semitones
- 0 · 7
- Note
- A♭
- Quality
- Power Chord (5)
- Symbol
- A♭5
A♭5 on piano
2 notes
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play A♭5 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on A♭ and little finger on E♭. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard every note of A♭5 is a black key. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- A♭1
- E♭5
A♭5 on guitar
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, A♭5 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. The fretted notes sit between frets 1 and 4. Don't play strings 6, 5 and 4.
A♭ · E♭
Try A♭5 on the virtual piano
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A♭5 chord notes
Also known as G♯5
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | A♭(Ab) | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | E♭(Eb) |
How to use the A♭5 chord
The A♭5 chord is built from a root and a perfect fifth. Start at the root A♭ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: A♭ and E♭. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Power chords drive punk, metal, grunge and hard rock, played on the low strings with distortion. Guitarists move a single shape up and down the neck, which is why riffs built from them transpose so easily.
How A♭5 differs from similar chords
A♭5 holds only the root and the fifth, so unlike A♭ or A♭m it has no third to decide its colour. With two notes it is the smallest chord in the library, often doubled with the root an octave up. The same A♭5 shape therefore fits major and minor songs alike.
Where A♭5 is used
No progression is shown for a power chord
A♭5 has no third, so it carries no major or minor function and cannot take a Roman numeral. Any progression printed here would belong to a different chord.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the A♭5 chord?
- The A♭5 chord contains A♭ and E♭ (Ab and Eb in plain text).
- Is the A♭5 chord major or minor?
- A♭5 is a power chord. Power chords have no third at all, only a root and a fifth, so they are neither major nor minor. That emptiness is the point: run one through a distorted amp and it stays clean and thick where a full triad would turn to mud.
- How do you play A♭5 on piano?
- Place your fingers on A♭ and E♭ and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right. On the keyboard every note of A♭5 is a black key. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard.
- How do you play A♭5 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. The fretted notes sit between frets 1 and 4. Don't play strings 6, 5 and 4.
- What is another name for the A♭5 chord?
- A♭5 is enharmonically equivalent to G♯5. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.