This Sounds Odd: Understanding 9th Chords
Last Updated on October 6th, 2020
Contrary to where modern guitar has gone, it started life as a rhythm instrument, bashing out chords on a large archtop (or larchtop*) in the back of the band. Yes, it is hard to believe that at one time, the idea of sweep picking lydian-dominant arps at 200 bpm was unheard of, and the idea of having a great chord vocabulary (and being able to improvise with those chords) was essential to be considered a great guitarist that could work steadily and support all of those spotlight-stealing brass players. These days, being an amazing rhythm player is downplayed in favor of other aspects of guitar playing, but understanding some small things about chords will only let our solos stand out more, and give us more interesting things to play over.If you haven’t read it yet, I would also suggest reading my article about 7th chords, as this article will build on those concepts.
*I made this word up, and trademarked it. So don’t try to steal it, bub. I’m talkin’ to you, Lloyd Loar.
9th Chords? But I Don’t Have A 9-String Guitar!
Relax, Finster. These types of chords don’t have to have nine notes, although they can if you play piano. Being this is a pretty guitar-centric site, we’ll do our best and stick to guitar stuff here. If you remember, basic harmony of Western music is built upon the triad, or three-note chords. Today, we will be taking the most familiar, the major and minor triads, and adding notes to those.
When we add notes to these basic chords, interesting things happen. The chord can sound jazzy and mysterious, or beautiful and disturbing. To do this, we will go back to our two-octave C major scale, with numbers underneath:
C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
The Add9 Chord
The easiest to understand is the add9 chord. It is a C major chord, with an added 9:
C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
This is usually used in place of a boring ol’ C chord, and it gives it some interesting color. You can hear this in some of Pink Floyd’s acoustic songs, as well as those by Green Day.
So, with any major chord, add the 9th note of the scale – which is the same as the 2nd note of the scale an octave higher – to the chord. Be the envy of all of your friends, and sound cool doing it!
The Major 9th Chord
This is similar to the add9 chord above, but you have to add the 7 in there too. Sometimes add9 and major9 chords are used as the same thing, but generally, major 9 includes that 7th:
CDEFGA B CDE F G A B C
12 34 56 7 8 910 11 12 13 14 15
These are used in place of a C major chord as well, and certainly sound more jazzy with that 7 in there.
Notice that the way I voiced this chord doesn’t contain the 5, or G. This is because it doesn’t add anything to the harmony: in other words, that G would be there if it was a minor, major or dominant 7th chord. It isn’t as important as the 3 or the 7 in defining the chord. If I wanted to add a G, I could grab the third fret on the first string to add to the chord.
I could also add the 6, or A, to this chord too, which would make a C6/9 chord.
The Dominant 9 Chord
This chord is a dominant chord, or one that really wants to resolve. It is like a Cmaj9 above, but takes the 7 (B) and flats it:
CDEFGABb CDE F G A B C
12 34 56 b7 8 910 11 12 13 14 15
The spelling of this chord is C E G Bb D.
Usually, this is used as a chord to resolve to another chord five notes lower (F). It is also used as the I or IV chords in a standard blues or funk progression.
Want it spicier? The 7#9 Chord
Want it spicier? The 7#9 ChordAhh, this is what we call ‘The Hendrix Chord,’ since it is used in the verse pattern of his classic Purple Haze. While his classic was in E at the seventh fret, ours will be in C at the third fret. Sometimes used as a I chord for blues, it can also be used as the V chord too. Spelling the notes out, we get this:
CDEFGABbCD# E F G A B C
12 34 56 b7 8 #9 10 11 12 13 14 15
So it is a C7 chord with an added 9 that you sharp. Got it?
The Irritating 7b9 Chord
Ok, the first time I heard this chord, I thought I was playing something out of tune. Now i use it a lot, and it delightfully irritates those that aren’t used to the exotic sounds. This chord is usually used as a V chord in blues, and used especially if it is resolving to a minor chord, rather than a major or dominant chord. Here are the letters:
CDEFGABbCDb E F G A B C
12 34 56 b7 8 b910 11 12 13 14 15
This is a C7 chord, with the added 9th note of the C scale flatted (Db). Here is a longer progression where you can hear this chord resolve to the Fm at the end.
You can find all kinds of examples of 9th chords in blues, rock, jazz and funk. As with any extended chords, the more distortion you use, the more it can tend to sound muddy as the overtones overtake the notes in the chord. Experiment to find the right balance, and have fun surprising and irritating your bandmates!
Do you use 9th chords in your playing? What are your favorite recorded examples of these strange chords?
