A♭ Major

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The A♭ major chord is a triad formed from a root (A♭), a major third (C) and a perfect fifth (E♭).

How to play A♭ major on the piano

To play the A♭ major chord, first start by finding the root of the chord: A♭. To do so, look at the keyboard and focus on the black keys in groups of three. The middle black key in that group of three is the A♭.

A♭ major contains the following notes: A♭, C, and E. With your right hand, you'd play the chord with the following fingers:

E♭ - Fifth finger (5)
C - Third finger (3)
A♭ - First finger (1)

Read: Here's everything you need to know about major and minor chords.

To play the chord with your left hand, use the following fingers:

E♭ - First finger (1)
C - Third finger (3)
A♭ - Fifth finger (5)

Depending on the music you're playing, it might be easier to use other fingers to play A♭ major. To get a visual sense of how the chord is built, look at our video above.

What are the inversions of A♭ major?

A♭ major has two inversions, which we'll refer to as the 1st and 2nd inversions. Below, you can learn how to play the different inversions of A♭ major.

How to play the 1st inversion of A♭ major

To play the 1st inversion of A♭ major, place the C as its lowest note. Use the following fingers to play the inversion with your right hand:

A♭ - Fifth finger (5)
E♭ - Second finger (2)
C - First finger (1)

Read: Here's everything you need to know about chord inversions.

How to play the 2nd inversion of A♭ major

The 2nd inversion of A♭ major places the E♭ as its lowest note. You can play the chord using the following fingers:

C - Fifth finger (5)
A♭ - Third finger (3)
E♭ - First finger (1)

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