A♭ major chord on piano
Find the A♭ major notes, inspect their piano positions, and compare inversions with an audible reference.
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Compare another chord
C Minor
C4 · E♭4 · G4
Notes and intervals
| Degree | Notes | Semitones |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A♭4 | 0 |
| 3 | C5 | 4 |
| 5 | E♭5 | 7 |
The notes and their roles
A♭ major contains A♭, C and E♭. From the root, the semitone offsets are 0, 4, 7. The degree formula 1, 3, 5 describes each member relative to the root, not its order in a particular voicing.
| Note | Role | Semitones above root |
|---|---|---|
| A♭ | Root | 0 |
| C | Major third | 4 |
| E♭ | Perfect fifth | 7 |
Read this shape accurately
The natural C sits between A-flat and E-flat. C-flat would be one semitone lower and would turn the same-root triad into A-flat minor.
Change only the third
Hold A♭ and E♭ steady. Lower C by one semitone to C♭ and the quality changes to minor. The root and perfect fifth do not change. This isolates the interval that distinguishes the two triads.
Choose a bass note
The root-position octave example is A♭4 · C5 · E♭5. Inversions put a different member in the bass while retaining A♭ as the root. The table gives pitch-class order; move the leading notes up an octave as needed to keep each example ascending.
| Position | Notes from the bass | Bass |
|---|---|---|
| Root position | A♭ · C · E♭ | A♭ |
| First inversion | C · E♭ · A♭ | C |
| Second inversion | E♭ · A♭ · C | E♭ |
A short listening check
Play A♭ major together, then as separate notes. Name the major third before looking at the display. Repeat in first inversion and check that C is the bass while A♭ remains the root.
- Choose the displayed root and quality in the chord explorer.
- Compare root position with one inversion at the same tempo.
- Save both examples in a named practice collection, or export a reference with note names.
Sources and methods
- Open Music Theory: Triads
- Enharmonic notes
- ChordLilt product contract
- Inverted triads