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A♭ major 7 chord

A♭ major 7 Major 7 family

Soft, dreamy, a bit wistful.

Easiest shape1 of 6

Square: the root. In colour: the major 7th, which gives the chord its sound.

Change a finger and see what it becomes

Built from

A♭root
Cmajor 3rd
E♭5th
Gmajor 7th

The major 7th sits one fret below the root an octave up, a gentle clash that sounds lush rather than tense.

Tension: Gentle

Hear it in a progression

Smooth turnaround
Jazz and neo-soul, endlessly loopable. In A♭ major.
Capo and transpose
Dreamy two-chord
Floating back and forth, no hurry. In A♭ major.
Capo and transpose

Where it goes next

Thinking in A♭ major, where it is the Imaj7 chord.

D♭maj7
IVmaj7. Lifts away from home without leaving it.
E♭7
V7. Builds tension that wants to come back.
Fm7
vi7. Same key, sadder colour: the relative minor.
B♭m7
ii7. A gentle step up that sets up the V chord.

Sounds close

Fm7
Relative minor 7: same notes but one. Both have A♭, C and E♭.
Cm7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have C, E♭ and G.
Cm
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have C, E♭ and G.
C
Shares 2 of its notes. Both have C and G.

Scales that fit

Notes you can play over this chord, simplest first.

Keys it lives in