Voicings · A♭7♯5 · Guitar
A♭7♯5 is spelled A♭ – C – E – G♭ (1 3 ♯5 ♭7) — a dominant that wants extra tension before resolving down a fifth. Here are 3 ways to voice it on guitar: drop 2, drop 3, shell. Every diagram is playable — press play to hear the chord, or “roll it” to hear the voices one by one, low to high.
The voicings
Take the close voicing and drop its second-highest voice an octave. The most-used four-note voicing on guitar and in piano left hands. Strings D-G-B-e, frets 2-1-1-2.
Drop the third-highest voice of the close voicing an octave: a wide, open sound. Strings A-G-B-e, frets 3-1-5-2 (position 1).
Root, seventh and third only. The fifth is dropped — it adds nothing to the chord's identity — leaving a light, clear voicing. Strings E-D-G, frets 4-4-5 (position 1).
Reference
| Chord tone | Note | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A♭ | unison |
| 3 | C | major 3rd |
| ♯5 | E | minor 6th |
| ♭7 | G♭ | minor 7th |
Arpeggio: A♭7♯5 arpeggio on guitar. Scale: A♭ Whole tone.
Common questions
A♭, C, E, G♭ — chord tones 1 3 ♯5 ♭7.
The shell voicing (root, seventh, third) on strings E, D, G: three notes, one comfortable shape, and it still sounds unmistakably like A♭7♯5.
Start from the close voicing A♭ C E G♭ and drop the second note from the top an octave: E – A♭ – C – G♭. It spreads the chord so it fits the hand — and on guitar it fits four adjacent strings.
A♭7♯5 is a dominant that wants extra tension before resolving down a fifth. Its character is floating, whole-tone.
Keep going
Same chord on piano · Augmented 7th (7♯5) hub.
Other chords from A♭