Sevenths
A♭ minor 7th chord
Smooth and soulful; a staple of jazz, R&B and funk.
A♭m7 is the ii7 chord in F♯ major, iii7 in E major and vi7 in B major. In minor keys: i7 in G♯ minor and iv7 in E♭ minor.
- Notes
- A♭C♭E♭G♭
- Formula
- 1♭35♭7
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · perfect 5th · minor 7th
How to play A♭m7
About the A♭ minor 7th chord
Playing it
On guitar, A♭m7 is most often played as a barre chord across the 4th fret (464444).
On piano, A♭m7 has three black keys (A♭, E♭ and G♭) and one white key.
On ukulele the usual A♭m7 shape is 1322, using four fingers.
Related chords
Take away the root and the other three notes form C♭ (C♭ E♭ G♭) — so you can think of A♭m7 as C♭ with A♭ added underneath.
A♭m7 contains exactly the same notes as B6. Which name fits depends on which note is in the bass and what key you’re in.
Move a single note and A♭m7 becomes a different chord: drop the G♭ for A♭m, raise C♭ to C for A♭7, lower G♭ to F for A♭m6 and swap C♭ for D♭ for A♭7sus4.
Where you’ll hear it
You’ll find A♭m7 in common progressions such as G♯m7–C♯7–F♯maj7 (the jazz cadence in F♯ major).
Notice the C♭ in A♭m7 (A♭ C♭ E♭ G♭): each note of the chord takes its own letter (A–C–E–G), so the minor 3rd has to be written C♭ rather than B — the same key on a piano, spelled to fit the chord.
