# A♭, the A♭ major guitar chord

A♭ is the F grip slid up three frets: the index barres all six strings at the 4th fret while the other fingers hold the same shape above it. If F ever fought you, this is your reward, because the identical grip presses easier here, away from the stiff strings at the nut. A♭ sits next to E♭ in the flat keys soul and gospel live in. The G string is still the one to watch: the barre alone frets it, and it’s the first note to die when the index arches. Strum all six and listen for it.

A♭

## How to play it

- Index finger flattened across the low E string (6th), B string (2nd) and high E string (1st), 4th fret.
- Middle finger on the G string (3rd), 5th fret.
- Ring finger on the A string (5th), 6th fret.
- Pinky on the D string (4th), 6th fret.

## Changes to practice

Holding A♭ still is the easy part. Songs need you to _arrive_ at it in rhythm, so in Strumhold you practice A♭ as changes, alongside the rest of the Barres in Every Key set:

- [A♭ ↔ E♭](https://strumhold.com/chords/e-flat-major/) A♭ major to E♭ major [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/D%23.maj.A~G%23.maj.E)
- [A♭ ↔ G♯m](https://strumhold.com/chords/g-sharp-minor/) A♭ major to G♯ minor [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/G%23.maj.E~G%23.min.E)
- [A♭ ↔ F♯](https://strumhold.com/chords/f-sharp-major/) A♭ major to F♯ major [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/F%23.maj.E~G%23.maj.E)
- [A♭ ↔ C♯](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-sharp-major/) A♭ major to C♯ major [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/C%23.maj.A~G%23.maj.E)
- [A♭ ↔ E♭m](https://strumhold.com/chords/e-flat-minor/) A♭ major to E♭ minor [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/D%23.min.A~G%23.maj.E)
- [A♭ ↔ B♭m](https://strumhold.com/chords/b-flat-minor/) A♭ major to B♭ minor [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A%23.min.A~G%23.maj.E)
- [A♭ ↔ Fm](https://strumhold.com/chords/f-minor/) A♭ major to F minor [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/F.min.E~G%23.maj.E)

## Same root, different color

- [G♯m](https://strumhold.com/chords/g-sharp-minor/), G♯ minor
- [A♭7](https://strumhold.com/chords/a-flat-7/), A♭ dominant 7
- [G♯m7](https://strumhold.com/chords/g-sharp-minor-7/), G♯ minor 7
- [A♭maj7](https://strumhold.com/chords/a-flat-major-7/), A♭ major 7

## Hear yourself get faster

Strumhold listens to your guitar through your device's mic, a headset, or a line-in from your audio interface. You drill a chord change to a metronome and it scores every single change. Free, no account, works offline.

[Drill A♭ in the app](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/D%23.maj.A~G%23.maj.E)