CHORD REFERENCE

A♭add9

A♭ – C – E♭ – B♭1 3 5 9

Also written G♯add9 — the same pitches spelled the other way.

The A♭ Added 9th chord and everything around it — the notes and how they are built, the shape on piano and guitar, the sound, and the keys it belongs to.

Notes
A♭1C3E♭5B♭9

A♭add9 is Ab, C, Eb, Bb — the 1, 3, 5 and 9 above the root A♭.

Piano
CA♭E♭B♭
Guitar

Guitar — every position (frets 0–12)

357912eA♭B♭CE♭BCE♭A♭B♭GA♭B♭CE♭DE♭A♭B♭CAB♭CE♭A♭EA♭B♭CE♭

Root notes are red. There is no standard open shape for this chord — any group of these notes on the neck sounds the chord.

Ukulele (standard G–C–E–A)

357912AB♭CE♭A♭EA♭B♭CE♭CCE♭A♭B♭CGA♭B♭CE♭

Every position of the chord tones on the ukulele neck — any group that sounds only Ab, C, Eb, Bb plays the chord.

In which keys

A♭add9 is a colour chord — it is not diatonic to a plain major or minor key, which is what gives it its character. It shows up as a borrowed chord, an altered dominant, or a passing sound.

Other A♭ chords

Triads

A♭MajorA♭mMinorA♭5Power Chord (5)A♭dimDiminishedA♭augAugmentedA♭sus2Suspended 2ndA♭sus4Suspended 4th

Sixths & sevenths

A♭6Major 6thA♭m6Minor 6thA♭7Dominant 7thA♭maj7Major 7thA♭m7Minor 7thA♭m(maj7)Minor–Major 7thA♭dim7Diminished 7thA♭m7♭5Half-Diminished (m7♭5)A♭7sus47sus4

Altered dominants

A♭7♭57♭5A♭7♯57♯5 (Augmented 7th)A♭7♭97♭9A♭7♯97♯9 (Hendrix Chord)

Extended & added

A♭6/96/9A♭9Dominant 9thA♭maj9Major 9thA♭m9Minor 9thA♭11Dominant 11thA♭13Dominant 13th
Added 9th on another root
CC♯D♭DE♭EFF♯G♭GA♭G♯AB♭B
Keep exploring

Work out the chords of a whole key with the Scale & Chord Finder, name a chord from its notes with the Chord Identifier, or browse every chord tool. The theory behind how chords are built is in the free Cloud Atelier music guides.