Chords in the key of A♭ major

A♭ major has 4 flats (B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭). Its seven chords are A♭, B♭m, Cm, D♭, E♭, Fm, G°. Its relative minor is F minor, which uses the same chords with Fm as home.

On the wheel, IV, I and V sit side by side on the outer ring with ii, vi and iii right below them. Tap any key on the wheel to go to its page.

The seven chords

7th chords

Common progressions in A♭ major

• A♭ E♭ Fm D♭I V vi IVThe pop engine (Let It Be, Someone Like You)
• A♭ Fm D♭ E♭I vi IV V50s / doo-wop (Stand By Me)
• Fm D♭ A♭ E♭vi IV I VThe same four from the minor side (Zombie, Africa-style)
• A♭ D♭ E♭I IV VThree-chord rock, blues and country
• B♭m E♭ A♭ii V IThe jazz cadence
• A♭ G♭ D♭ A♭I ♭VII IV IRock's borrowed cadence (Hey Jude coda, Sweet Child O' Mine)
• A♭ D♭ D♭m A♭I IV iv IThe bittersweet ending (Creep)

Borrowed from the minor

Chords from A♭ minor dropped into A♭ major. Rock lives on ♭VII; IV then iv then I is the bittersweet move (Creep).

Secondary dominants

A 7th chord that leads into another chord of the key as if it were home for a moment. Its root is one step clockwise of its target on the wheel.

Colour chords

The same slot on the wheel with a different flavour. Sus chords swap the 3rd for the 2nd or 4th and like to resolve back to the plain chord (A♭sus4 → A♭). add9 adds the 2nd on top of the full chord. These are the common ones whose notes all stay in the key (here: A♭sus2, A♭sus4, A♭add9); the small label is the slot they sit in.