Ab Major Arpeggio

What is an Ab major arpeggio?

It is the Ab major chord played one note at a time: Ab C Eb, the 1, 3, 5 of Ab major. Play the notes together and it is the chord; play them in sequence and it is the arpeggio. Same three notes, so wherever the chord fits, the arpeggio fits too.

Ab major vs G# minor arpeggio

One note apart. The major arpeggio has the 3rd, C; the minor has B. The root and the 5th are the same, so a major shape becomes the minor shape by moving one finger down a fret.

• The G# minor arpeggio

Which keys use the Ab major arpeggio

Ab major is a chord in every key whose scale contains Ab, C, Eb. It is the I of Ab major, and it appears in these keys too, under a different numeral each time:

• C minor — where it is the VI
• Db major — where it is the V
• Eb major — where it is the IV
• F minor — where it is the III
• Bb minor — where it is the VII

The Abmaj7 arpeggio

Add the 7th and the arpeggio becomes Ab C Eb G — Abmaj7. Four notes instead of three, the extra one sitting a half step below the root, which is what gives it the jazz and soul colour. Every shape below extends to it by adding one note per octave.

How to practice the Ab major arpeggio

1. Hold a Ab chord and pick its notes one at a time, low to high and back. That is the arpeggio in its simplest form.
2. Open the arpeggio generator in this key and step through the sweep shapes. Each is the same three notes laid out for one picking motion.
3. Play it over a two-chord vamp — Ab to Fm — and switch arpeggios when the chord changes. That is the whole skill of playing the changes.