Guitar chords · Dominant 9th
A9 chord on guitar
A9 (A The 5th degree of a key and the chord on it (V). It creates tension that wants to resolve home to the tonic. 9th) has five notes: A, C♯, E, G and B, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., 3, 5, ♭7 and 9.
Shapes
How to play A9
Strum a shape to hear it, or pick it one string at a time. R marks the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7.; the other numbers are the chord tones.
A9 has an A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., and one A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major.: the E shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 5. A movable shape keeps its fingering anywhere on the neck: slide it up or down and the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., on the lowest played string, names the chord.
Open
E shape · fret 5
Notes and formula
What makes A9 dominant 9th
A The 5th degree of a key and the chord on it (V). It creates tension that wants to resolve home to the tonic. 9th chord is a A major chord with a minor 7th added, such as G7. It is the V7 of a key and pulls strongly to the I chord. chord with the 9th stacked on top. It keeps the A triad with one more 3rd on top, the 7th, which makes four notes: G7, Cmaj7 and Am7 are seventh chords.'s pull to the chord a 5th below but sounds fuller and smoother: the sound of funk, soul and the blues. Keep the 3rd, the ♭7th and the 9th; the 5th can go.
- 1Root: the note the chord is named after. Keep it.
- 3Essential: makes the chord what it is. Never drop it.
- 5Optional: drop it first when you run out of fingers.
The 3rd, the ♭7th and the 9th make A9 a The 5th degree of a key and the chord on it (V). It creates tension that wants to resolve home to the tonic. 9th chord; you can leave out the 5th.
- ARroot
- C♯3essential
- E5optional
- G♭7essential
- B9essential
- A, the root
- Other chord tones
A9 usually resolves to D or Dm, the chord a 5th below: the V9–I move.
Keys
Keys with A9
A9 belongs to two keys: D major (V9) and B minor (VII9).
Numerals follow the key's own scale, so III, VI and VII in a minor key are its own major chords. A ♭ or ♯ in front marks a chord from outside the key. How Roman numerals work
Slash chords
A9 over another bass note
A A chord with a different note in the bass, written after a slash: C/E is a C chord with E as its lowest note. The letter after the slash is the bass. keeps A9 on top and puts another note in the bass: the letter after the slash is the lowest note you play.
- A9/C♯
A9 with its 3rd, C♯, in the bass.
- A9/E
A9 with its 5th, E, in the bass.
- A9/G
A9 with its ♭7th, G, in the bass.
Same root
Other chords on A
Change one or two notes and the same The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7. gives a different colour. Compare them by ear.
- A major
- Am minor
- A7 dominant 7th
- Amaj7 major 7th
- Am7 minor 7th
- Asus2 suspended 2nd
- Asus4 suspended 4th
- A6 major 6th
- Am6 minor 6th
- Aadd9 add 9
- Amaj9 major 9th
- Am9 minor 9th
- A13 dominant 13th
- Amaj13 major 13th
- Am11 minor 11th
- A° diminished
- Am7♭5 half-diminished 7th
- A°7 diminished 7th
- A+ augmented
- A5 power chord
- A7sus4 dominant 7th suspended 4th
- Am(maj7) minor major 7th
- A6/9 six-nine
- Am(add9) minor add 9
- A7♯9 dominant 7th sharp 9th
Questions
A9, in short
- What notes are in the A9 chord?
- A9 (A The 5th degree of a key and the chord on it (V). It creates tension that wants to resolve home to the tonic. 9th) has five notes: A, C♯, E, G and B, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., 3, 5, ♭7 and 9.
- How do you play A9 on guitar?
- A9 has an A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., and one A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major.: the E shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 5.
- What key is A9 in?
- A9 belongs to two keys: D major (V9) and B minor (VII9).