How to Play G#/Ab mandolin chords

Overview

There are many positions (ways, variants etc.) to play the G# or Ab major chord on the mandolin.

In this article you can find the most common G# or Ab major chord positions – displayed on the slideshow above, fingered for your convenience. If you need help to understand how to play them, you will find step-by-step instructions at the middle of this article. Finally, the article closes with a chord chart for future reference, feel free to print it.

What is a G#/Ab major Chord?

The G#/Ab major chord is a triad that consists of the following notes:

G# (Ab), which is the root
B# (D), which is the 3rd
D# (Eb), which is the 5th

Here you can see the G# major chord written on a pentagram:

And here you can see the Ab major written on a pentagram:

If you want to understand more on chords theory, i.e. how they are constructed, check out the following popular article I have written some time ago: Understanding Chords Theory.

Playing the G#/Ab major chord on the mandolin

This is how you place your left hand on the fretboard to play this chord:

Index finger barre on 1st fret of fourth and third strings.
Third finger on 3rd fret of second string
Fourth finger on 4th fret of first string.

Note that because the first note is G# (Ab), we call this chord in root position.

This is how you place your left hand on the fretboard to play this chord:

Fourth finger on 5th fret of fourth string
Index finger on 1st fret of third string.
Second finger on 3rd fret of second string
Third finger on 4th fret of first string.

Note that because the first note is B# (C), we call this chord in 1st inversion.

For your Reference

If you feel like learning how to play G# (Ab) major on every possible position on the mandolin, see below a Chord Chart diagram for your reference.

Resources

Like What You Read?

[dropcap]Sign-in![/fusion_dropcap]

Enter your name and email to get Free Instant Access to the most comprehensive e-book available on how to master the methods and tools used for mandolin tuning. Learn: