As the tonic (I)A♭ major
Home. The loop leaves A♭6 and keeps coming back to it.
A♭6 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The A♭6 chord is a major sixth chord built on the root note A♭. Its notes are A♭, C, E♭ and F. It's enharmonically the same chord as G♯6.
Transpose
Quality
Short answer
Major sixth chords sound bright and settled without the pull of a seventh. Adding a major sixth to a major triad gives a warm, slightly retro colour that filled swing bands and fifties pop, and it still ends a song beautifully.
- Notes
- A♭ · C · E♭ · F
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · 6
- Semitones
- 0 · 4 · 7 · 9
- Note
- A♭
- Quality
- Major 6
- Symbol
- A♭6
A♭6 on piano
4 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play A♭6 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on A♭, index finger on C, middle finger on E♭ and little finger on F. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard A♭ and E♭ are black keys and C and F are white. 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
- C3
- E♭5
- F6
A♭6 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, A♭6 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. This one is a barre at fret 1: keep the index finger flat across the strings and curve the others so they don't mute the strings next to them.
A♭ · C · E♭ · F
Play A♭6 on the online piano
Free, in your browser: play with the mouse, your computer keyboard or a USB MIDI keyboard. No sign-up.
A♭6 chord notes
Also known as G♯6
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | A♭(Ab) | |
| 3 | Major third | 4 | C | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | E♭(Eb) | |
| 6 | Major sixth | 9 | F |
How to use the A♭6 chord
The A♭6 chord is built from a root, a major third, a perfect fifth and a major sixth. Start at the root A♭ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: A♭, C, E♭ and F. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Major sixth chords work as a softer substitute for a major triad, especially as a final chord where a maj7 would sound too jazzy. Swing, rockabilly, bossa nova and country all lean on them.
How A♭6 differs from similar chords
A♭6 and A♭maj7 both add one note to A♭, but the sixth sits a whole step below the major seventh and makes no dissonance with the root. A♭6 has exactly the same notes as the minor seventh chord a minor third below it, so the bass note decides which of the two you hear.
Where A♭6 is used
A major chord is at home as a tonic, and just as useful as the IV or the V of a neighbouring key. Each progression below is written in the key its numerals name.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the A♭6 chord?
- The A♭6 chord contains A♭, C, E♭ and F (Ab, C, Eb and F in plain text).
- Is the A♭6 chord major or minor?
- A♭6 is a major sixth chord. Major sixth chords sound bright and settled without the pull of a seventh. Adding a major sixth to a major triad gives a warm, slightly retro colour that filled swing bands and fifties pop, and it still ends a song beautifully.
- How do you play A♭6 on piano?
- Place your fingers on A♭, C, E♭ and F 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 A♭ and E♭ are black keys and C and F are white. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard.
- How do you play A♭6 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. This one is a barre at fret 1: keep the index finger flat across the strings and curve the others so they don't mute the strings next to them.
- What is another name for the A♭6 chord?
- A♭6 is enharmonically equivalent to G♯6. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.