Arpeggio · A♭6 · Guitar
The A♭6 arpeggio is A♭ – C – E♭ – F — chord tones 1 3 5 6. A♭6 is a tonic alternative to maj7, especially on the last chord of a tune; its sound is open, classic, swing-era. Below, every A♭, C, E♭, F on the fretboard is marked, with the root in gold. Press play to hear a one-octave arpeggio, or tap any note.
Visualizer
Guitar · standard tuning
Piano
Play loops the arpeggio up and down one octave (switch Loop off for a single pass) in the position starting at fret 4. Tap any marked note to hear it. “Show” switches or combines the fretboard and keyboard; “Sound” picks the instrument you hear. Audio is synthesized in the browser.
Reference
| Chord tone | Note | Interval from A♭ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A♭ | unison (0 semitones) |
| 3 | C | major 3rd (4 semitones) |
| 5 | E♭ | perfect 5th (7 semitones) |
| 6 | F | major 6th (9 semitones) |
Goes with: A♭ Major (Ionian) (A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G). Voicings: A♭6 voicings on guitar.
Common questions
A♭ – C – E♭ – F. As chord tones: 1 3 5 6. Played one after another instead of together, that is the arpeggio.
A♭6 is a tonic alternative to maj7, especially on the last chord of a tune. Its character is open, classic, swing-era.
A♭ Major (A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G) — the arpeggio is the skeleton of that scale, so practise them together.
Start on the root A♭ on the low E string at fret 4 and play E-string fret 4, E-string fret 8, A-string fret 6, A-string fret 8, D-string fret 6. Then play it descending, then in eighth notes with a metronome, then over the a tonic alternative to maj7.
Keep going
Same arpeggio on piano · Major 6th hub · chord-scale theory.
Other arpeggios from A♭