

G9 can also be played without the 3rd as 3X323X. None of the shapes are all that pleasing: the first include a stretch and the second creates a somewhat bassy sound. These shapes are using the 6th string for the bass and root note. To become more flexible, you should learn a shape with its base tone on another strings. In blues, a popular rootless inversion is by using the same shape as in the m7b5 chord, for example, A9/C# as X4545X. This turns the chord into a voicing without the root note and, for example, C9 will be played XX2333 and F9 will be played as XX7888. The 9th chords are most often played in closed positions as seen on diagrams above, but here are some suggestions for open 9th chords:Ī#9 / Bb9: X10111 9th chord voicings without the rootĪnother way to play these chords is to remove the tone on the 5th string. A 12 Bar Blues progression could look something like:Ī7 – D9 – A7 – E9 – D9 – A7 9th chord in open position If you know how to play a 12 bar blues chord progression you can mix it up by replacing the IV7 and V7 with IV9 and V9. The ninth is built with the formula 1-3-5-b7-9 (root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th and major 9th). 9th chords with flats and sharpsĪ sharp / B flat 9th: X10111 Chord formula To generalize, the movable shape in the left diagram is especially suited for funk whereas the movable shape in the right diagram is often used in jazz.įrom a theoretical standpoint, what differs is that the fifth interval is omitted in the second version. If you leave out the high E-string, you will not play the fifth, but it's alright to omit that note in a 9th chord.

the 1st string), and in that case you can instead use all four fingers. It's also possible to skip the high E-string (i.e. The thumb could be on top of the neck, to accomplish the right angle of the hand and avoid muting note of the fourth string. To play the chord you have to lay your ring finger over the three highest strings (see picture to the right). Adapting to these versions makes the chord really simple to memorize. The diagrams show the 9th chords in movable versions.
