Chords in the Key of A♭ Major on Ukulele
The chords in Ab Major are Ab, Bbm, Cm, Db, Eb, Fm and Gdim. Four flats and shapes like Db and Bbm make it one of the hardest keys on a ukulele, which is why most players capo fret 3 and play the far kinder F Major shapes instead. Its relative minor is F Minor, which runs on the same seven chords, so this page quietly teaches you that key as well.
- Key signatureFour flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db)
- Relative minor F Minor
- Parallel minor G♯ Minor
- Neighboring keys D♭ Major (C♯ Major) · E♭ Major
- On ukulele Hard
The chords in A♭ Major
These seven are the whole family. Nearly every song in this key is built from them, in some order. Tap a diagram to hear it and flip through other shapes, or open its page for the full rundown.
Struggling with these shapes? Put a capo on fret 3. A capo raises everything by one fret per position, so with it on fret 3 you can play the far easier shapes for F Major and the song still comes out in A♭ Major. That swaps Ab, Bbm, Cm for F, Gm, Am.
New to this? My capo guide covers where to clamp it and why it works. Rather move the song to a friendlier key for good? The transposing guide shows how.
Where A♭ Major lives on the wheel
Every key page shows this same circle. Watch the outlined block as you move between keys and the whole diagram explains itself.
Progressions that work in A♭ Major
Written out in this key so you can play them straight off the page. Each one is a pattern you have heard a thousand times, which is exactly why it works.
Behind more hits than any other four bars. If a song is in this key, try these first.
Folk, blues, country and punk. Everything you need to busk in this key.
Stand By Me and half the jukebox. Warm and instantly familiar.
The cadence jazz is built on. Add 7ths to all three for the real flavor.
The same four chords starting on the minor. Moodier opening, same payoff.
The Canon line. Walks downhill and feels like it's going somewhere.
Chords worth borrowing
Chords from outside A♭ Major that still sound at home in it. One of these dropped into a plain progression is usually what lifts it out of beginner-exercise territory.
- Eb7 V7 The dominant with a 7th on top. Pulls hard back to the tonic.
- Bb7 V7/V A dominant aimed at the V chord, so the V feels like a landing.
- F7 V7/ii Sets up the ii chord, which is how a jazz turnaround gets rolling.
- C7 V7/vi Leads into the relative minor for a quick change of mood.
- Dbm iv The minor subdominant. One borrowed chord, instant wistfulness.
- B bIII Lifted from the parallel minor. Rock and gospel lean on it.
- E bVI Huge and a bit heroic. Often walks down into the V.
- Gb bVII The Mixolydian flat 7. Classic rock in one chord.
- Absus4 Isus4 Holds the tonic in suspense for a beat before it resolves.
Other flavors of Ab
Same home note, different set of notes around it. Swapping the mode is the quickest way to change the mood of something without changing the key it sits in.
- Ab Ionian The plain major scale. Bright and settled.
- Ab Dorian Minor with a raised 6th. Minor, but hopeful.
- Ab Phrygian Minor with a flat 2nd. Spanish and a little tense.
- Ab Lydian Major with a raised 4th. Floaty and cinematic.
- Ab Mixolydian Major with a flat 7th. The sound of rock and folk.
- Ab Aeolian The plain natural minor. Sad in the usual way.
- Ab Locrian Unstable by design. Rare outside metal and jazz.
There are 544 songs in A♭ Major on UkuTabs, worked out by reading the chords in every chart. It's the same reading you see in the "How to play" box on the song itself, so the two always agree. Charts that don't clearly settle on one key are left out rather than guessed at.
Ukulele songs in A♭ Major
About A♭ Major
A key is the family of notes and chords a song is built around, named after the chord it keeps coming home to. In A♭ Major that home chord is Ab and the other six chords above are its relatives. Play them in almost any order and it'll sound like music, because they all come from the same seven notes.
A♭ Major shares its key signature and all seven of its chords with F Minor, its relative minor. The only thing that changes is which chord feels like home. That's why a song can drift between the two without anything sounding wrong and it's also why working out the key from the chords alone isn't always possible. The last chord usually settles it.
Either side of it on the wheel sit D♭ Major and E♭ Major, which differ by a single note. Those are the easiest keys to move to if you want a key change and the first place to look for a chord to borrow.
New to all of this? The how keys work guide walks through the whole idea in plain words and ends with writing a song of your own in one.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions ukulele players ask most about keys like this one.
What chords are in Ab Major?
The seven chords in Ab Major are Ab, Bbm, Cm, Db, Eb, Fm and Gdim. The three you'll use most are Ab, Db and Eb, the I, IV and V.
Is Ab Major hard to play on ukulele?
It scores 67 on my playability scale, which puts it in the hard band. The score comes from the actual shapes: fretted strings, real barres and anything past the third fret, weighted towards the chords you play most. If it feels awkward, capo 3 and play the shapes for F Major instead.
What is the relative minor of Ab Major?
F Minor. Same seven chords, same key signature, different home chord. The wheel above shows the pair as inner and outer ring on the same spoke.
What key signature does Ab Major have?
Four flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db). It shares that signature with F Minor.
Next stop: look up any shape on the chord diagrams, work out a chord you already know the shape of with the chord namer, run the scale up the neck on scales or get in tune first with the tuner.