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A♭/B♭

  1. B♭2bass
  2. A♭Rtriad
  3. C3triad
  4. E♭5triad
Open A♭/B♭ in the chord libraryDownload the A♭/B♭ chart (PDF)
Voicings

3 ways to play A♭/B♭

Every voicing sits inside one of the five CAGED shapes, low to high on the neck, with its octave doublings in grey.

  • Triad note
  • Substitute
  • Added
  • Anchored root
  • Bass
  • Doubling
AA shape 2nd inversion A♭/B♭
1 2 3 4 3 R 5 2

Frets x 1 1 1 1 xNotes B♭ E♭ A♭ CIntervals 2 5 1 3Base triadA♭ major, 2nd inversion

EE shape 2nd inversion A♭/B♭
4 5 6 7 3 R 5 2

Frets 6 6 6 5 x xNotes B♭ E♭ A♭ CIntervals 2 5 1 3Base triadA♭ major, 2nd inversion

DD shape 2nd inversion A♭/B♭
6 7 8 9 3 R 5 2

Frets x x 8 8 9 8Notes B♭ E♭ A♭ CIntervals 2 5 1 3Base triadA♭ major, 2nd inversion

The rules

The construction rules A♭/B♭ follows

  1. Start from a triad

    Root, 3rd and 5th, stacked in thirds. The 3rd makes it major or minor; the 5th makes it diminished or augmented when it moves.

  2. A slash names the bass

    Chord/bass puts any note under a triad. A chord tone gives an inversion, such as C/E; another note gives a new chord: G/F is G7 with the 7th in the bass.

All the rules, with examples, in the guide to the chord library.

Major triad over the 2nd in every key

More chords on A♭

A♭/B♭ chord questions

What notes are in A♭/B♭?

A♭/B♭ is spelled B♭ A♭ C E♭: B♭ is the 2nd, A♭ is the root, C is the 3rd, E♭ is the 5th.

What is the formula of A♭/B♭?

2 1 3 5. It is a A♭ major triad, over B♭ in the bass.

How many ways can you play A♭/B♭ on guitar?

This page shows 3 voicings of A♭/B♭, filed under the five CAGED shapes and named by inversion, from the open position up to the 16th fret.