Banjo A♭7 chord (Open G)A♭ seventh on the 5-string banjo: 1 1 1 4, and 3 more shapes

Ab7 chord chart for 5-string banjo in Open G tuning: 1 1 1 4, first position, with the short 5th string marked
Ab7 (Ab seventh) on the 5-string banjo, Open G: 1 1 1 4, string 4 to string 1. Fingers are numbered on the dots; copper marks the root; the green ring on the left is the 5th string, solid when it’s in the chord.

Frets, string 4 to string 1: 1 1 1 4 (first position)

  1. String 4 (D): 1st fret, index finger (barre), E♭
  2. String 3 (G): 1st fret, index finger (barre), A♭
  3. String 2 (B): 1st fret, index finger (barre), C
  4. String 1 (D): 4th fret, little finger, G♭
  5. String 5, the short g: open, G, not in the chord

Sounds: E♭ A♭ C G♭  ·  A♭7 is A♭, C, E♭, G♭ (1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7)

The 5th string: the short g rubs against the A♭ and G♭ in this shape, a semitone away: some players let it ring, some skip it.

Up the neck: F7 shape: 6 5 4 4 (4fr); E7 shape: 6 5 7 6 (5fr); D7 shape: 6 8 7 10 (6fr). Slide a shape up or down to play another chord of its kind.

With a capo: on the 1st fret it’s 0 0 0 3 (frets counted from the capo), an open G7 shape. Spike the 5th string at the 6th fret to keep it in tune with the capo.

Open G tuning: gDGBD, the short 5th string first, then strings 4 to 1.

Hear it in the app ›

The app starts in open G, so it opens on these shapes.

More A♭7 shapes

  1. 6fr1321gA♭E♭G♭A♭6 8 7 6
    6fr · no 3rd
  2. 9fr2413gCG♭A♭C10 11 9 10
    9fr · no 5th
  3. 11fr2134gE♭G♭CE♭13 11 13 13
    11fr · no root

Other A♭ chords in Open G

A♭A♭mA♭7

Other seventh chords

G7A7D7C7B7E7F7B♭7E♭7F♯7C♯7A♭7

A♭7 in other tunings

Double CSawmillOpen DC Tuning

All Open G banjo chords · Printable chart (PDF) · How to tune · The app