A♭ Dominant 7th
A♭7
Notes
A♭ · C · E♭ · G♭
Intervals
- RootA♭ (1P)
- Major 3rdC (3M)
- Perfect 5thE♭ (5P)
- Minor 7thG♭ (7m)
Fretboard
Adjust labels, frets, and palette in the interactive view.
Voicings & shapes
Drop-2 voicings (12)
Drop-3 voicings (8)
Shell voicings (2)
About
The A♭7 dominant seventh (A♭–C–E♭–G♭) is the primary tension-bearing chord in tonal harmony. Its pull toward resolution comes from the tritone between C and G♭ — these two notes want to resolve inward, landing in the V–I cadence on D♭. The 3rd and ♭7 are essential: they form the tritone, and they distinguish a dominant 7 from a A♭m7. The fifth can be freely omitted without weakening the harmonic function. On guitar, shell voicings (1–3–♭7) are common in jazz; full voicings appear in blues and rhythm playing. Compared to A♭Maj7, dominant 7 is harmonically active and directional — it is a chord that moves.
Chord diagrams
Ab Dominant 7th voicing charts — tap a sheet to open it full size to save or print.
Similar chords
Chords sharing two or more notes with this one, ranked by overlap.
Scales containing this chord
- A♭ Mixolydian (I)
- A Diminished (deg 8)
- B♭ Natural Minor (VII)
- C Diminished (deg 6)
- C Locrian (VI)
- D♭ Harmonic Minor (V)
- D♭ Major (V)
- D♭ Melodic Minor (V)
- E♭ Diminished (deg 4)
- E♭ Dorian (IV)
- E♭ Melodic Minor (IV)
- F Phrygian (III)
- F♯ Diminished (deg 2)
- F♯ Lydian (II)
Scales whose notes include every chord tone. The Roman numeral (or scale degree) marks the chord root’s position in the scale.