Ab Guitar Chord: The 10 Best Ways to Play

Written by

Dwight H.

April 6, 2023

Fact-checked by

Paul Mazzola

Ab Guitar Chord (10 Best Chords with Pictures)

Ab Major, which you might also come across as its enharmonic equivalent G# Major, isn’t the most common or popular chord in the guitar world, but it’s essential all the same. You’ll find this chord scattered across a few jazz tunes, peppered into a rock song or two, and front & center in many a Steely Dan track.

Today, we’ll be tackling the myriad ways in which you can play this chord on your guitar, including a few uncommon variants of the guitar that will help you impress like a true guitar wizard.

How to Play the Ab Guitar Chord

If you want to stay near the 1st fret and play this chord, you’ll need to employ some deft fingerwork and skillful muting, in a few cases. If you’re up for the challenge, though, try these variations on for size:

• Place your 1st finger on the 6th string/4th fret

• Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd string/4th fret

• Place your 3rd finger on the 3rd string/5th fret

• Mute strings 1, 4, and 5

Ab Guitar Chord Variation #1

Ab guitar chord 1

• Use your 1st finger the cover strings 2, 3, and 4 on the 1st fret

• Place your 2nd finger on the 5th string/3rd fret

• Place your 3rd finger on the 6th string/4th fret

• Place your 4th finger on the 1st string/4th fret

Ab Guitar Chord Variation #2

• Place your 1st finger on the 5th string/3rd fret

• Place your 2nd finger on the 6th string/4th fret

• Place your 3rd finger on the 2nd string/4th fret

• Place your 4th finger on the 1st string/3rd fret

• Mute strings 3 and 4

Ab Barre Guitar Chord

Admittedly, these variations near the 1st fret are tricky, so if you’ve got enough strength in your index finger to pull of a proper barre, you might want to give this 4th fret iteration of the Ab Major chord a shot:

Ab guitar chord barre

• Use your 1st finger to bar the strings at the 4th fret

• Place your 2nd finger on the 3rd string/5th fret

• Place your 3rd finger on the 5th string/6th fret

• Place your 4th finger on the 4th string/6th fret

Ab Guitar Chord: Easy Verison

This is often an easier way to play Ab Major, but it won’t always provide the sound you want for the chord. Just a bit higher on the fretboard, you can try this 6th fret version of Ab Major, which will give you a lighter, tighter sound since you won’t be using the 5th or 6th strings to play it:

Ab guitar chord easy

• Place your 1st finger on the 4th string/6th fret

• Place your 2nd finger on the 3rd string/8th fret

• Place your 3rd finger on the 1st string/8th fret

• Place your 4th finger on the 2nd string/9th fret

• Mute strings 5 and 6

Ab Guitar Chord: 8th Fret

Similarly, you can get a different sound out of this 8th fret version of the Ab Major chord, which doubles up on the chord’s root note:

Ab guitar chord 8

• Use your 1st finger to cover strings 1, 2, and 3 at the 8th fret

• Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd string/9th fret

• Place your 3rd finger on the 4th string/10th fret

• Place your 4th finger on the 5th string/11th fret

• Mute string 6

Ab Guitar Chord: 9th Fret

The 9th and 10th fret versions of the Ab Major chord will again require you to combine some complicated fingerwork with expert string muting:

Ab guitar chord 9

• Place your 1st finger on the 2nd string/9th fret

• Place your 2nd finger on the 4th string/10th fret

• Place your 3rd finger on the 5th string/11th fret

• Place your 4th finger on the 1st string/11th fret

• Mute strings 3 and 6

Ab Guitar Chord: 10th Fret

Ab guitar chord 10

• Place your 1st finger on the 4th string/10th fret

• Place your 2nd finger on the 5th string/11th fret

• Place your 3rd finger on the 1st string/11th fret

• Mute strings 2, 3, and 6

Ab Guitar Chord: 11th Fret

Then there’s the 11th fret variant of the Ab Major chord. It will give you a rather unique sound, but might also pose some challenges since the notes are very close together:

Ab guitar chord 11

• Place your 1st finger on the 5th string/11th fret

• Place your 2nd finger on the 4th string/13th fret

• Place your 3rd finger on the 3rd string/13th fret

• Place your 4th finger on the 2nd string/13th fret

• Mute strings 1 and 6

Ab Guitar Power Chord

And if you want to take a crack at the easiest Ab Major chord of all, you could simply turn to your power chord on the 4th fret:

Ab guitar chord power

• Place your 1st finger on the 6th string/4th fret

• Place your 3rd finger on the 5th string/6th fret

• Place your 4th finger on the 4th string/6th fret

• Mute strings 1, 2, and 3

Making the Most of the Ab Guitar Chord

With many of the Ab Major chord variants we’ve shown, you’ll have to place your fingers in awkward positions and mute multiple strings simultaneously in order to play them correctly. It might seem an impossible task at first, but careful practice will make this feat easier to execute.

Remember that you only need to press a string lightly to deaden its vibration, so get the hang of using the minimal amount of pressure necessary to mute your strings before attempting some of these difficult Ab Major chords. As always, best of luck, and happy practicing!