Banjo A♭7 chord (Open G)A♭ seventh on the 5-string banjo: 1 1 1 4, and 3 more shapes
Frets, string 4 to string 1: 1 1 1 4 (first position)
- String 4 (D): 1st fret, index finger (barre), E♭
- String 3 (G): 1st fret, index finger (barre), A♭
- String 2 (B): 1st fret, index finger (barre), C
- String 1 (D): 4th fret, little finger, G♭
- 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.
The app starts in open G, so it opens on these shapes.
More A♭7 shapes
- 6 8 7 6
6fr · no 3rd - 10 11 9 10
9fr · no 5th - 13 11 13 13
11fr · no root
Other A♭ chords in Open G
Other seventh chords
A♭7 in other tunings
All Open G banjo chords · Printable chart (PDF) · How to tune · The app