How to play Ab7b9: a dominant 7th flat 9 built on Ab, with 1 voicing, the notes, the keys it belongs to, and songs that use it.
The first diagram is a common voicing: played at the first few frets. An X above a string means don't play it; an O means play it open.
Frets from the low E string to the high E string: 4 3 4 2 x x (x = not played).
| Note | Ab | C | Gb | Bbb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interval | R | 3 | b7 | b9 |
Ab7b9 is a dominant 7th flat 9 with Ab as its root. The full theoretical spelling is Ab, C, Eb, Gb, Bbb. This voicing omits the 5th, the tone guitarists drop first when fitting a chord onto six strings.
Ab7b9 is a diatonic chord (built from the key's own notes) in 0 major keys and 1 minor key. The roman numeral is the chord's place in that key; tap a key for all of its chords.
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Ab7b9 is spelled Ab, C, Eb, Gb, Bbb: the root, 3rd, 5th, flat 7th, flat 9th. The common guitar voicing sounds Ab, C, Gb, Bbb, leaving out the 5th.
Frets from the low E string to the high E string: 4 3 4 2 x x (x means the string is not played). Fret the G string at the 2nd fret. Add the A string at the 3rd fret. Add the low E and D strings at the 4th fret. Strum from the low E string down, skipping the B and high E strings.
Ab7b9 belongs to one key: C# minor (the V, from the harmonic minor).
