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Anatomy
9th Chord Formula
The 5 scale degrees that form every 9th chord — in any key.
I
Root0 st
III
Major 3rd+4 st
V
Perfect 5th+7 st
♭VII
Minor 7th+10 st
IX
Major 9th+14 st
A dominant 9th is a dominant 7th with the 9th stacked on top — root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th, then the 2nd of the scale raised an octave. Nothing is replaced, so the chord keeps the restless pull of the 7th and gains a wider, richer top. Five notes will not fit under four fingers on six strings, so guitar voicings routinely drop the perfect 5th: the root already implies it, and the 9th is the reason you reached for the chord.
Applied to C: C (root) – E (major 3rd) – G (perfect 5th) – B♭ (minor 7th) – D (9th). Applied to E: E – G♯ – B – D – F♯. Applied to A: A – C♯ – E – G – B.
About this tool
About 9th Chords on Guitar
A 9th chord — written as a bare 9 after the root letter, as in C9 or E9 — is a dominant 7th chord with one more note on top: the 9th, which is the 2nd degree of the scale raised an octave. The formula is 1 – 3 – 5 – ♭7 – 9, so a C9 is C, E, G, B♭ and D. Because nothing is removed, the chord does exactly the same job as a plain 7th: it is the V chord of a key and it pulls toward the tonic a fourth above, with the same tritone between the major 3rd and the minor 7th driving the tension. The 9th only widens the sound. That is five notes and a guitar has four fingers, so the perfect 5th is the tone that gets dropped — the root already implies it, and every four-string voicing on these pages leaves it out on purpose. Three spellings that look similar are worth keeping apart. An add9 chord adds the same 9th to a plain major triad and has no 7th at all, so it is bright rather than bluesy. A maj9 chord uses the natural 7th instead of the flat one. A sus2 chord replaces the 3rd with the 2nd rather than stacking it an octave up. Only the plain 9 is a dominant chord. In practice this is the chord of funk, blues, R&B and soul: the open E9 grip is one of the most recognisable sounds in rhythm guitar, and the moveable A-string form — index on the D string, ring finger flat across the top three — turns up in every blues turnaround. Each root here gets three voicings: the A-string root grip, the six-string E-string barre, and a compact four-string form rooted on the D string.
- 01Built from 5 notes: root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th, and the 9th on top (formula 1 – 3 – 5 – ♭7 – 9)
- 02A dominant 7th chord with the 9th added — nothing is replaced
- 03The 9th is the 2nd degree of the scale raised an octave
- 04Written as a bare number after the root letter: C9, E9, A9
- 05Guitar voicings routinely drop the perfect 5th — five notes rarely fit under four fingers
- 06Functions as the V chord and resolves a fourth up, exactly like a plain 7th
- 07Distinct from add9 (no 7th), maj9 (natural 7th) and sus2 (no 3rd)
- 08The staple chord of funk, blues, R&B and soul rhythm guitar
- 09Three voicings per root: A-string root grip, E-string barre, and a compact four-string form
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
A 9th chord is a five-note dominant chord: root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th and the 9th. C9 contains C, E, G, B♭ and D. It is a dominant 7th chord with the 9th stacked on top, and the 9th is simply the 2nd degree of the scale raised an octave.
The formula is 1 – 3 – 5 – ♭7 – 9: root, major third (+4 semitones), perfect fifth (+7), minor seventh (+10) and major ninth (+14). Applied to C that is C, E, G, B♭ and D.
One note. C7 is C, E, G and B♭. C9 adds D on top. Nothing is taken away, so the chord still behaves as a dominant 7th — the 9th is colour, not a change of function. You can substitute one for the other in a blues without anything breaking.
The 7th. An add9 chord is a plain major triad with the 9th added and no 7th at all — Cadd9 is C, E, G and D. A 9th chord keeps the flat 7th, and that is what makes it a dominant chord with somewhere to go. Add9 sounds bright and open; 9 sounds bluesy and unresolved.
No. C9 uses the minor 7th (B♭) and is a dominant chord. Cmaj9 uses the natural 7th (B) and is a major chord — warm and settled rather than tense. A bare 9 in a chord chart always means the dominant version.
Because a 9th chord has five notes and a guitarist has four fingers and six strings. Something has to give, and the perfect 5th is the note that carries the least information — the root already implies it. Dropping the 3rd, the ♭7 or the 9th would change what the chord is; dropping the 5th does not.
A perfect fourth up, the same place its plain 7th goes: C9 to F, G9 to C, E9 to A. It is the V chord of that key. In blues, funk and R&B, though, a 9th chord is often just parked on for bars at a time — it is rich enough to carry a whole vamp without resolving.
E9 in open position (0-2-0-1-0-2) — the low E, D and B strings ring open and only three fingers are needed. After that, the moveable A-string grip is the one to learn: index on the D string, ring finger flat across the top three strings, and the root under your middle finger on the A string.
Constantly. A 12-bar blues will often play 9th chords where the chart says 7th, because the extra note thickens the sound without changing the harmony. The same shapes are the backbone of funk and soul rhythm guitar, where a single 9th chord can hold a groove for eight bars.
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