Pedal Steel Atlas

E9 pedal steel chord

A♭7 on pedal steel

A♭ dominant 7th (A-flat dominant 7th, Ab7) · also written G♯7 · 1,108 voicings on standard E9

Easiest A♭7 on E9 pedal steel: bar on fret 4, no pedals, pick strings 5, 6, 8 & 9 (E♭–C–A♭–G♭).

  • A♭, root
  • C, 3rd
  • E♭, 5th
  • G♭, flat 7th

Where you’ll hear it: The dominant 7th pulls back home: the 5 chord before the 1, and the backbone of blues and Western swing.

Start here: 3 grips to learn first

Every move is described by what it does to the strings, so these work on any E9 guitar. If your levers are wired differently, use the one that makes the same change.

Fret 4 · no pedals

Easiest
  1. Bar on fret 4 (or 16)
  2. No pedals or levers
  3. Pick strings 5 · 6 · 8 · 9 — E♭ C A♭ G♭
Tab:
string 5fret 4
string 6fret 4
string 8fret 4
string 9fret 4
Open in the app →

Fret 7 · E→F lever + D lever (past the stop)

Knee lever
  1. Bar on fret 7 (or 19)
  2. Push the E→F lever — left knee, pushing left (LKL) on most guitars
  3. Push the D lever (past the stop) (D♯→C♯ + D→C♯) — right knee, pushing right (RKR) on most guitars
  4. Pick strings 5 · 6 · 8 · 9 — G♭ E♭ C A♭
Tab:
string 5fret 7
string 6fret 7
string 8fret 7E→F
string 9fret 7D→C♯
Open in the app →

Fret 9 · B pedal + E→E♭ lever

Knee lever
  1. Bar on fret 9 (or 21)
  2. Press the B pedal (G♯→A)
  3. Push the E→E♭ lever — left knee, pushing right (LKR) on most guitars
  4. Pick strings 3 · 4 · 5 — G♭ C A♭
Tab:
string 3fret 9B
string 4fret 9E→E♭
string 5fret 9
Open in the app →

Where you’ll play it

On a Nashville number chart, A♭7 shows up as:

  • The 5 7 in the key of D♭

    The key of D♭ by number: 1 D♭ · 4 G♭ · 5 A♭ · 2m E♭m · 3m Fm · 6m B♭m

  • The 2 7 in the key of F♯

    written G♯7 in that key

    The key of F♯ by number: 1 F♯ · 4 B · 5 C♯ · 2m G♯m · 3m A♯m · 6m D♯m

More grips up the neck

Low neck · frets 0–7

Fret 4 · D lever (half-stop)

  1. Bar on fret 4 (or 16)
  2. Push the D lever (half-stop) (D♯→D) — right knee, pushing right (RKR) on most guitars
  3. Pick strings 2 · 3 · 4 — G♭ C A♭

Fret 3 · B pedal + E→F lever

  1. Bar on fret 3 (or 15)
  2. Press the B pedal (G♯→A)
  3. Push the E→F lever — left knee, pushing left (LKL) on most guitars
  4. Pick strings 2 · 3 · 4 — G♭ C A♭

Fret 7 · C pedal + E→F lever

  1. Bar on fret 7 (or 19)
  2. Press the C pedal (E→F♯ + B→C♯)
  3. Push the E→F lever — left knee, pushing left (LKL) on most guitars
  4. Pick strings 5 · 6 · 8 · 10 — A♭ E♭ C G♭

Mid neck · frets 5–12

Fret 7 · C pedal + E→F lever + D lever (past the stop)

  1. Bar on fret 7 (or 19)
  2. Press the C pedal (E→F♯ + B→C♯)
  3. Push the E→F lever — left knee, pushing left (LKL) on most guitars
  4. Push the D lever (past the stop) (D♯→C♯ + D→C♯) — right knee, pushing right (RKR) on most guitars
  5. Pick strings 5 · 6 · 8 · 9 · 10 — A♭ E♭ C A♭ G♭

High neck · frets 10–17

Fret 16 · no pedals

  1. Bar on fret 16 (or 4)
  2. No pedals or levers
  3. Pick strings 6 · 8 · 9 · 10 — C A♭ G♭ E♭

Fret 16 · D lever (half-stop)

  1. Bar on fret 16 (or 4)
  2. Push the D lever (half-stop) (D♯→D) — right knee, pushing right (RKR) on most guitars
  3. Pick strings 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 — G♭ C A♭ E♭

Is your guitar set up differently?

Players wire their knee levers in different places, so this page names every change by what it does. Find the pedal or lever on your guitar that makes the same change — the name on yours doesn’t matter.

ChangeWhat it does · usually found
B pedalG♯→ARaises your G♯ strings (3 & 6) a half step to A.Usually: the B pedal on almost every E9 guitar
C pedalE→F♯ + B→C♯Raises string 4 (E) to F♯ and string 5 (B) to C♯ — a whole step each.Usually: the C pedal on almost every E9 guitar
E→F leverE→FRaises your E strings (4 & 8) a half step to F.Usually: left knee, pushing left (LKL) on most guitars
E→E♭ leverE→E♭Lowers your E strings (4 & 8) a half step to E♭.Usually: left knee, pushing right (LKR) on most guitars
D lever (half-stop)D♯→DLowers string 2 (D♯) a half step to D at the half-stop; push on past it for C♯ with string 9.Usually: right knee, pushing right (RKR) on most guitars
D lever (past the stop)D♯→C♯ + D→C♯The same lever pushed past its half-stop: takes string 2 (D♯) on down to C♯ and brings in string 9 (D), a half step down to C♯.Usually: right knee, pushing right (RKR) on most guitarsA few student and older guitars stop at D, with no C♯ position.

Pick your setup in Pedal Steel Atlas (it's free) — one of the built-in copedents, or your own exact one — and it re-voices every chord for your pedals and levers — open A♭7 in the app → or compare common setups.

How to read the diagrams

  • Diamond = the root (the note the chord is named after). Other notes are colored by their job in the chord, like the chips above.
  • Blue string = a pedal or lever changes it. The label on the left shows the new note (E→F).
  • Dashed line = the bar. Lay the steel directly over that fret, not between frets.
  • Colored pedal or lever = press it. String 1 is the one farthest from you; string 10 is nearest.

Keep exploring

More A♭ / G♯ chords

Dominant 7th in every key

Pedal Steel Atlas

Every A♭7 voicing — on your guitar

  • Your setup. Pick a built-in copedent — or build your exact one, free — and every chord re-voices for your guitar.
  • Real steel tone. Hear every grip and the pedal moves between them.
  • Find the one you need. Filter by top note, bass string, or the changes you want to avoid.
  • From chord to tab. Drop any grip into a tab and play it back.
Open A♭7 in the appRuns right in your browser — nothing to install.