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Piano chord

A♭add9A flat added ninth

  • A♭1
  • C3
  • E♭5
  • B♭9
Notes
4
Positions
4
Span
14semitones
Fingers
1-2-3-5

How to play A♭add9 on piano

  1. Find A♭: it is the root and the lowest note of the chord in root position.
  2. Right hand: 1 on A♭, 2 on C, 3 on E♭, 5 on B♭.
  3. Or with the left hand: 5 on A♭, 4 on C, 3 on E♭, 1 on B♭.
  4. Press the keys together, with curved fingers and a loose wrist, and let them ring.
  1. A♭add9 on piano, Root position: A♭ C E♭ B♭A♭, C, E♭, B♭CA♭E♭B♭2135
    A♭add9 on piano, Root position: A♭ C E♭ B♭A♭, C, E♭, B♭CA♭E♭B♭4531

    Root position · A♭ – C – E♭ – B♭

  2. A♭add9 on piano, 1st inversion: C E♭ B♭ A♭C, E♭, B♭, A♭CE♭B♭A♭1235
    A♭add9 on piano, 1st inversion: C E♭ B♭ A♭C, E♭, B♭, A♭CE♭B♭A♭5431

    1st inversion · C – E♭ – B♭ – A♭

  3. A♭add9 on piano, 2nd inversion: E♭ B♭ A♭ CE♭, B♭, A♭, CCE♭B♭A♭5124
    A♭add9 on piano, 2nd inversion: E♭ B♭ A♭ CE♭, B♭, A♭, CCE♭B♭A♭1542

    2nd inversion · E♭ – B♭ – A♭ – C

  4. A♭add9 on piano, 3rd inversion: B♭ A♭ C E♭B♭, A♭, C, E♭CB♭A♭E♭4135
    A♭add9 on piano, 3rd inversion: B♭ A♭ C E♭B♭, A♭, C, E♭CB♭A♭E♭2531

    3rd inversion · B♭ – A♭ – C – E♭

Numbers on the keys are fingers: 1 thumb, 2 index, 3 middle, 4 ring, 5 little finger.

A♭add9 inversions

Here are all 4 positions of A♭add9. The notes stay the same, only their order changes: root position has A♭ at the bottom, and every inversion starts on the next chord tone.

A♭add9 with two hands

A full sound: the left hand plays A♭ an octave lower, the right hand plays A♭–C–E♭–B♭.

A♭add9 with two handsA♭, A♭, C, E♭, B♭CA♭A♭E♭B♭25135

A♭add9 on other instruments

About the A♭add9 chord

The 4 notes of A flat added ninth are A♭ (1), C (3), E♭ (5), B♭ (9). An added ninth: a major triad plus the ninth, without a seventh. It adds sparkle to a plain major chord and works anywhere the triad does.

The keys are A♭ – C – E♭ – B♭, counted up from A♭; the distance from the lowest to the highest key is 14 semitones. Few hands reach that far, so share A♭add9 between both hands, with A♭ in the left.

In the inversions of A♭add9 the root moves up and another note takes the bass. In the 1st inversion the bass is C (C–E♭–B♭–A♭). In the 2nd inversion the bass is E♭ (E♭–B♭–A♭–C). In the 3rd inversion the bass is B♭ (B♭–A♭–C–E♭).

Add B♭ to A♭ and you have A♭add9.

Questions

What notes are in the A♭add9 chord?

A♭add9 (A flat added ninth) has 4 notes: A♭ (1), C (3), E♭ (5), B♭ (9).

How many inversions does A♭add9 have?

A♭add9 can be played in 4 positions: Root position (A♭–C–E♭–B♭); 1st inversion (C–E♭–B♭–A♭); 2nd inversion (E♭–B♭–A♭–C); 3rd inversion (B♭–A♭–C–E♭).

What is the difference between A♭add9 and A♭?

Add B♭ to A♭ and you have A♭add9.

Can I play A♭add9 with one hand?

In root position A♭add9 spans 14 semitones, more than an octave. Play the root with the left hand and the upper notes with the right, or leave out the fifth.

More A♭ chords