A♭ Dominant 9th

A♭9

Notes

A♭ · C · E♭ · G♭ · B♭

Intervals

  • RootA♭ (1P)
  • Major 3rdC (3M)
  • Perfect 5thE♭ (5P)
  • Minor 7thG♭ (7m)
  • Major 9thB♭ (9M)

Fretboard

EBGDAE357912G♭A♭B♭CE♭CE♭G♭A♭B♭A♭B♭CE♭G♭E♭G♭A♭B♭CB♭CE♭G♭A♭G♭A♭B♭CE♭
Ab Dominant 9th (Ab9) guitar chord — notes Ab, C, Eb, Gb, Bb shown across the full fretboard, frets 0 to 12.
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Voicings & shapes

Rootless voicings (A / B form) (4)
EBGDAE57G♭CE♭B♭
B form · 4fr
EBGDAE35CG♭B♭E♭
A form · 3fr
EBGDAE1213CG♭B♭E♭
A form · 10fr
EBGDAE9G♭CE♭B♭
B form · 8fr

About

The A♭9 dominant ninth (A♭–C–E♭–G♭–B♭) extends a dominant 7 with a ninth. The B♭ adds brightness and harmonic richness without affecting the chord’s dominant function — the tritone between C and G♭ is still present and still drives resolution to D♭. The 3rd and ♭7 remain essential; the 5th is routinely dropped on guitar to make room for the 9th without creating a muddy cluster. Common in funk, jazz, and blues as a more colorful version of the dominant 7. Compared to A♭7, the 9th adds shimmer and modernity; the resolution tendency is identical.

Chord diagrams

Ab Dominant 9th voicing charts — tap a sheet to open it full size to save or print.

Ab Dominant 9th (Ab9) guitar chord — rootless A and B form jazz comping voicings (the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th, with the root omitted) shown as fretboard chord diagrams.
Rootless voicings — A & B forms (root omitted; a bass supplies it)

Similar chords

Chords sharing two or more notes with this one, ranked by overlap.

Scales containing this chord

Scales whose notes include every chord tone. The Roman numeral (or scale degree) marks the chord root’s position in the scale.

Other Dominant 9th chords

Other A♭ chords