Abaug9 guitar chord
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About Abaug9 — 2nd inversion
Abaug9 is Ab, C, E, Gb and Bb. Start with and raise the 5th from to . You’ll also see this chord written Ab9♯5 or Ab9(♯5).
Hear what that one-note change does by comparing with Abaug9.
Hear the change
Only the 5th changes: E♭ rises a half step to E. The other notes stay in place.
When Abaug9 resolves to , that can rise another half step to .
Also written Ab9#5, Ab+9 or Ab9(#5).
What 2nd inversion means
Abaug9 in 2nd inversion puts E in the bass instead of Ab, the 5th of the chord. The notes are the same; what changes is what the bass line does, which is most of why you would reach for it — it lets the lowest voice move by step where the root would have jumped.
One of Abaug9’s 11 shapes does this:x7857x
How to use Abaug9
Abaug9 is a dominant with its tension raised, so it still points at — harder than a plain seventh does. A plain dominant has two voices a semitone from home; an altered one has four, because every altered tone is also sitting a semitone from a note of Db. More voices leaning the same way is all "more tension" means here.
What to play over Abaug9
Useful scales
- +D
Contains Abaug9 and adds flat fifth.
Chords near Abaug9
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3rd inversion 3rd inversion 3rd inversion 3rd inversion 3rd inversion 3rd inversion
The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in how this site is built.