A♭ minor added 9th chord

Playing it

On guitar, A♭m(add9) is most often played as a barre chord across the 4th fret (466446). While you build strength, you can play just the top four strings of the same shape (xx6446).

On piano, A♭m(add9) has three black keys (A♭, E♭ and B♭) and one white key. In root position it spans more than an octave, so many pianists play the root with the left hand and the rest with the right.

On ukulele the usual A♭m(add9) shape is 3342, using four fingers.

Related chords

Move a single note and A♭m(add9) becomes a different chord: drop the B♭ for A♭m, swap B♭ for G♭ for A♭m7, drop the C♭ for A♭sus2 and swap B♭ for F for A♭m6.

Where you’ll hear it

Notice the C♭ in A♭m(add9) (A♭ C♭ E♭ B♭): each note of the chord takes its own letter (A–C–E–B), so the minor 3rd has to be written C♭ rather than B — the same key on a piano, spelled to fit the chord.