CadenzaA♭ major seventh
A♭maj7
Also written G♯maj7 · A♭M7 · A♭Δ7 · A♭Δ · A♭j7
The major 7th: I of A♭ major and IV of E♭ major. The 7th sits a semitone under the octave, and that small rub is what makes it sound finished and unfinished at once. The ii–V–I that ends on it: B♭m7 → E♭7 → A♭maj7.
How pianists voice A♭maj7
Nobody plays a jazz chord in root position. These are the shapes that actually get played — the same ones Cadenza shows when you play the chord.
Shell Left hand
1 · 3 · 7 — root, 3rd and 7th: the three notes that say what the chord is. Left hand, low; everything else is colour.
Rootless A From the 3rd
3 · 5 · 7 · 9 — no root: the bass player has it. The left-hand voicing of modern jazz piano. Without A♭ underneath, the same keys read as Cm7 — the bass turns them into A♭maj7.
Rootless B From the 7th
7 · 9 · 3 · 5 — the other half of the pair. A and B alternate through a ii–V–I so the hand barely moves.
Drop 2 Two hands
5 · 1 · 3 · 7 — close position with the second voice from the top dropped an octave: wider, warmer, the standard for chord melody.
A♭maj7 inversions
The same 4 notes with a different one in the bass. Each inversion is written as a slash chord.
Root position A♭maj7
Root at the bottom, stacked in 3rds: 1 · 3 · 5 · 7.
1st inversion A♭maj7/C
C (the 3) in the bass: 3 · 5 · 7 · 1.
2nd inversion A♭maj7/E♭
E♭ (the 5) in the bass: 5 · 7 · 1 · 3.
3rd inversion A♭maj7/G
G (the 7) in the bass: 7 · 1 · 3 · 5.
Major seventh chords in every key
Every A♭ chord
Play a chord. See its name.
The free chord finder names whatever you play — on a MIDI keyboard, with your mouse or on your computer keys — with the same engine as Cadenza.
Or let the app follow you.
Cadenza names every chord you play, live, writes what you played as sheet music, and puts the keyboard straight into OBS. The core is free forever.