How to play an A-flat chord

Here, we'll learn how to play an A-flat chord on the piano.

An A-flat chord has three notes:

Try finding the notes on the piano with your right hand. A diagram is below, but see if you can figure out how to do it before scrolling down.

Below, the chord appears in root position. If doing all three at the same time is too hard, just do one at a time. The numbers refer to the right-hand finger numbers you'll use.

If you're a little intimidated by the black keys, remember that they aren't any "harder" than the white keys - they just might be less familiar to you.

Once you've accomplished that, now try an inversion of the chord: put C on the bottom. See if you can find the chord on your own before you scroll down to look at the diagram!

Good job. Now put E-flat on the bottom. Can you find it on your own?

The chord has the same identity no matter which note is on the bottom.

Once you are comfortable with the right hand, you can fill out the sound by playing octave A-flats in the left hand. That means your pinky and your thumb will each play an A-flat. If you can't quite reach, just pick one A-flat.

Once you are playing two notes in the left hand and three notes in the right, the chord will sound very rich and full. Nice work!