Fig. 1 · Ab major

key signature

A♭ major

A♭1B♭2C3D♭4E♭5F6G7

4 flats, written B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭

relative: F minorparallel: A♭ minorthe scale

The chords that live in it

A♭degree 1 · majorB♭mdegree 2 · minorCmdegree 3 · minorD♭degree 4 · majorE♭degree 5 · majorFmdegree 6 · minorGdimdegree 7 · diminished

Built by stacking thirds inside the scale and asking what quality comes out, rather than from a table of roman numerals.

What is true of it

A♭ major has 4 flats.

They are written in this order, always: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭.

Its notes are A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F and G.

Relative: F minor has the same 4 flats. Parallel: A♭ minor has 7 flats, which is why changing mode changes the signature by three.

Every key

C♭ majorG♭ majorD♭ majorE♭ majorB♭ majorF majorC majorG majorD majorA majorE majorB majorF♯ majorC♯ majorA♭ minorE♭ minorB♭ minorF minorC minorG minorD minorA minorE minorB minorF♯ minorC♯ minorG♯ minorD♯ minorA♯ minor