A flat major scale

The A♭ major scale is A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F and G, with four flats. From A♭, the steps go whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half.

  1. A♭1
  2. whole
  3. B♭2
  4. whole
  5. C3
  6. half
  7. D♭4
  8. whole
  9. E♭5
  10. whole
  11. F6
  12. whole
  13. G7
  14. half
  15. A♭8
C1F1G2A♭3B♭4D♭2E♭3A♭3

A♭ major on the staff, piano and guitar

On the staff

♭♭♭♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭FGA♭♭♭♭♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭FGA♭

On piano

Right hand 3 4, then the thumb passes under to C: 1 2 3 1 2 3.

C1F2G1A♭3B♭2D♭4E♭3A♭3

Left hand 3 2 1, then finger 4 crosses over to D♭: 4 3 2 1 3.

Fingers are numbered from the thumb, 1, to the little finger, 5. Coming down, play the same fingers in reverse.

On guitar

34567EBGDAEGA♭B♭CD♭E♭FGA♭B♭CD♭E♭FGA♭B♭

Every note of A♭ major between the 3rd and 7th fret. The root, A♭, has a heavy ring.

How to play the A flat major scale on piano

  1. Find A♭, the middle black key of a group of three.
  2. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to B♭, a black key.
  3. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to C.
  4. Go up a half step, to the very next key, to D♭, a black key.
  5. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to E♭, a black key.
  6. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to F.
  7. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to G.
  8. Go up a half step, to the very next key, to A♭, an octave above where you started.

Practice the A♭ major scale

Play the A♭ major scale one note a beat, up and back down: A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G A♭ G F E♭ D♭ C B♭ A♭. Hands separately first. Start at 60 beats a minute and move up toward 100 once every note lands on the beat.

A♭
  1. A♭
  2. B♭
  3. C
  4. D♭
  5. E♭
  6. F
  7. G
  8. A♭
  9. G
  10. F
  11. E♭
  12. D♭
  13. C
  14. B♭
  15. A♭

The key of A♭ major

Follow the major pattern from A♭ and four notes need a flat: A♭, B♭, D♭ and E♭. Those four flats are the key signature.

Relative minor
F minor
Parallel minor
A♭ minor
Neighbors on the circle of fifths
D♭ major and E♭ major
♭♭♭♭CAmGEmDBmAF♯mEC♯mBC♭G♯mA♭mF♯G♭D♯mE♭mD♭C♯IVB♭mA♯miiA♭IFmviE♭VCmiiiB♭GmFDmA♭ major
A♭ major on the circle of fifths, with the chords of its key marked.

The name of each note in the key

  1. 1A♭tonic
  2. 2B♭supertonic
  3. 3Cmediant
  4. 4D♭subdominant
  5. 5E♭dominant
  6. 6Fsubmediant
  7. 7Gleading tone

Chords in A♭ major

Build a chord on each note of the scale, using only the scale's notes, and you get the seven chords of the key. The numeral is the chord's place in the key: capitals for major, small letters for minor.

  1. IA♭
  2. iiB♭m
  3. iiiCm
  4. IVD♭
  5. VE♭
  6. viFm
  7. vii°Gdim

Modes on the same notes

Start the A♭ major scale on another of its notes and you get a mode, with the same key signature: A♭ ionian, B♭ dorian, C phrygian, D♭ lydian, E♭ mixolydian, F aeolian, G locrian.

Practice notes for the A flat major scale

A♭ major has four flats, B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭: A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G A♭. The black keys come in two pairs, A♭ B♭ and D♭ E♭, with white keys between them, and the fingering follows the pairs.

Where it goes wrong. Losing track of which pair you are on. Both pairs are two neighboring black keys, so the hand can drift from one to the other. In the right hand, A♭ B♭ are fingers 3 4, the thumb passes under to C, then D♭ E♭ are 2 3, the thumb passes under to F, and G A♭ are 2 3. In the left hand, A♭ B♭ are 3 2, the thumb plays C, then 4 crosses over to D♭, and 3 2 1 3 finishes on A♭.

How to practice it. Play each pair as a block, both keys together, with the right fingers: A♭ B♭ with 3 4, D♭ E♭ with 2 3. Then the white keys between, with the thumb. Once the hand knows where each pair sits, play the scale one note at a time.

What to listen for. G to A♭ at the top and C to D♭ in the middle, the two half steps. Both step up from a white key to a black one.

What to learn next. F minor, the relative minor with the same four flats, and D♭ major, one flat more.

Questions

What are the notes of the A♭ major scale?

A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F and G, then A♭ again an octave up.

What chords are in the key of A♭ major?

A♭, B♭m, Cm, D♭, E♭, Fm and Gdim: I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi and vii°.

Why does A♭ major have four flats?

Follow the major pattern from A♭ and four notes need a flat: A♭, B♭, D♭ and E♭. Those four flats are the key signature.

What is the relative minor of A♭ major?

F minor. It uses the same notes and the same key signature, starting on F.