Chord progressions in Ab major

Which chords belong together in Ab major, and what is built from them: the seven diatonic chords and 13 common progressions, each written out.

The chords of Ab major

Almost every song in this key is built from these seven. The roman numeral says which degree of the scale the chord stands on — upper case for major, lower case for minor.

Degree	Chord	Type
I	Ab	major
ii	Bbm	minor
iii	Cm	minor
IV	Db	major
V	Eb	major
vi	Fm	minor
vii°	Gdim	diminished

13 progressions in Ab major

I–V–vi–IVAb – Eb – Fm – DbThe four chords vi–IV–I–VFm – Db – Ab – EbThe same four, starting minor I–vi–IV–VAb – Fm – Db – EbThe fifties progression ii–V–IBbm7 – Eb7 – Abmaj7The jazz cadence I–IV–VAb – Db – EbThe three primary chords I–I–I–I–IV–IV–I–I–V–IV–I–VAb7 – Db7 – Ab7 – Eb7 – Db7 – Ab7 – Eb7The twelve-bar blues I–V–vi–iii–IV–I–IV–VAb – Eb – Fm – Cm – Db – Ab – Db – EbThe Pachelbel canon I–vi–ii–VAbmaj7 – Fm7 – Bbm7 – Eb7The turnaround I–♭VII–IVAb – Gb – DbThe Mixolydian turn I–iii–IV–VAb – Cm – Db – EbThe rising progression I–IV–I–VAb – Db – Ab – EbThe alternating progression vi–V–IV–VFm – Eb – Db – EbThe lamenting progression I–V–IV–VAb – Eb – Db – EbThe rock loop

Neighbouring keys

Db majorEb majorF minor

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Every note on this page is computed, not typed in — following the rule that also makes F# major spell its seventh degree E#, not F.