Ab Minor

A flat Minor scale for guitar. The Ab Minor is a seven-note scale, also called Natural Ab Minor. Colored circles mark the tones in the diagram, with darker color highlighting the root notes. The root notes are always Ab tones. In the two-octave pattern, the first root note is on the 6th string, 4th fret.

Ab Minor 2 octaves

Ab Minor scale diagram

Ab Minor full fretboard

Ab Minor scale whole guitar neck diagram

Ab Minor with note names

Ab Minor scale with note letters diagram

Shape 1 (3rd position) with fingerings

Ab Minor scale shape diagram 3rd pos

Shape 2 (6th position) with fingerings

Ab Minor scale shape diagram 6th pos

Shape 3 (8th position) with fingerings

Ab Minor scale shape diagram 8th pos

Shape 4 (11th position) with fingerings

Ab Minor scale shape diagram 11th pos

Shape 5 (1st position) with fingerings

Ab Minor scale shape diagram 1st pos
Notes: Ab - Bb - Cb - Db - Eb - Fb - Gb Intervals: 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 Type: Septonic 
G Minor scale  •  A Minor scale

The scale displayed with its numeric formula and scale degrees.

Formula Notes Intervals Degrees
1 Ab Unison Tonic
2 Bb Major second Supertonic
b3 Cb Minor third Mediant
4 Db Perfect fourth Subdominant
5 Eb Perfect fifth Dominant
b6 Fb Minor sixth Submediant
b7 Gb Minor seventh Subtonic

The third degree is written as Cb, which is the same as B. The sixth degree is written as Fb, which is the same as E. A practice in a scale notation is to not include the same letter twice, if it can be avoided.

The interval formula (2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 2) can be expound into specific notes of the scale.

Notes (ascending) Interval
Ab-Bb M2
Ab-B m3
Ab-Db P4
Ab-Eb P5
Ab-E m6
Ab-Gb m7
Notes (descending) Interval
Ab-Gb M2
Ab-E M3
Ab-Eb P4
Ab-Db P5
Ab-B M6
Ab-Bb m7

Abbreviations are used: M / m stands for major / minor and P stands for perfect.

The A flat Minor scale consists of seven notes. These can be described as intervals, as semi-notes or steps on the guitar fingerboard, written as 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 from the first note to the next octave.
The Ab Minor is relative to B Major. Both scales include the same notes but their tonal center differ.
The Ab Minor is identical with the Ab Aeolian mode.

Beneficial to learn this scale is to observe the note steps starting from the root: whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. The same formula applies for the whole neck.

These are chords built from the notes of this scale:

Abm, Abm7, Abm9, Abm11
Bbdim, Bbm7b5
B, Bmaj7, B6, B6/9, Bmaj9, Bmaj13
Dbm, Dbm7, Dbm6, Dbm9, Dbm11, Dbm13
Ebm, Ebm7
E, Emaj7, E6, E6/9, Emaj9
Gb, Gb7, Gb6, Gb9, Gb11, Gb13

The tones in these chords correspond to the tones of the Ab Minor scale in which Abm is the tonic triad and Abm7 the tonic 7th chord.

Start the audio and play along with your guitar! Use notes from the scale in the diagram above.

Normal tempo:
Slow tempo:

All Minor Scale jam tracks

Ab Minor scale first shape ascending.

Ab Minor scale tab

The numbers above the tablature are suggested fingerings.