AbmMaj9 guitar chord
Root, third and seventh: the guide tones fix the quality, so the fifth is dropped. That is what leaves a string free, so pick a tension to put on top.
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- Fingers, notes or intervals
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About AbmMaj9 — shell voicings
AbmMaj9 is Ab, Cb, Eb, G and Bb — AbmMaj7 with the ninth added on top.
It sounds the same unease with more colour over it. The ninth softens the edge without resolving anything.
AbmMaj9 notes and formula
| Ab | Cb | Eb | G | Bb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ♭3 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
Minor tonic — melodic minor, extended.
Also written AbmM9, Abm(maj9) or Ab-Δ9. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play AbmMaj9
Root, third and seventh. The third and seventh, the guide tones, are what make the chord major, minor or dominant, so the fifth can go: it says nothing the symbol needs.
Three notes means a spare string, which is the real point. Put a tension on it.
AbmMaj9 has 3 of them, on the bottom four strings, the top four strings and the middle four strings, from the 2nd fret up to the 9th — all in one inversion, so the bass note never moves. The one to learn first is the Ab shape at the 2nd fret.
Start with 4253xx — no barre and down at the nut. 1 of the 7 shapes here sits in open position. 3 of the 7 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 2nd fret to the 14th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42x343 | 2nd fret | Ab, root position | G | all fretted |
| 4x5304 | open position | Ab, root position | Ab | 1 open string |
| 4253xx | 2nd fret | Ab, root position | Bb | all fretted |
| 465446 | 4th fret | Ab, root position | Bb | barred |
| 666887 | 6th fret | Bb, 9th in the bass | Cb | barred |
| x-11-9-12-11-x | 9th fret | Ab, root position | Bb | all fretted |
| 11-14-13-12-11-11 | 11th fret | Eb, 2nd inversion | Eb | barred |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 7 drop 2, 6 drop 3, 14 rootless and 1 open string voicings, each on its own page.
Tensions. A shell of AbmMaj9, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the 11 (Db) and the 13 (F).
How to use AbmMaj9
How you get to it. The turn that lands on AbmMaj9 is Bbm7♭5 to Eb7♭9: the ii and the V of Ab minor, which is where a minor tonic is usually arrived at rather than simply begun on.
What to play over AbmMaj9
Every note of AbmMaj9 is in Ab harmonic minor and Ab melodic minor.
Chords near AbmMaj9
Change one note of AbmMaj9 and you have Abmaj9 (the minor third becomes a major third), Abm69 (the major seventh becomes a sixth), Abm9 (the major seventh becomes a flat seventh), AbmMaj7 (drop the ninth), AbmMaj11 (add the fourth) or Abmadd9 (drop the major seventh).
AbmMaj9 is a minor chord — root, minor third, fifth. Minor chords on every root.
On AbmMaj9’s sound and use this page follows Mark Levine, The Jazz Theory Book (Sher Music, 1995). The shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.