You'll have no trouble finding the root of an Ab Major chord, because it's what gives an Ab Major chord it's name: It's the note Ab. The 3rd The third of an Ab Major chord is. Quick lesson on how to play the Ab Chord (A flat major) on the guitar. The strings I refer to as 123456 (1 being the bottom string, and the 6 being the top s.
The 9th chord is frequently used in styles like funk and jazz. The chord is constructed by adding the ninth note in the scale to a dominant 7th chord. The C9 for example, includes the following notes: C, E, G, Bb and D.
9
C9
D9
E9
F9
G9
A9
B9
Alt. shape
Comment
The diagrams show the 9th chords in movable versions. Adapting to these versions makes the chord really simple to memorize.
To play the chord you have to lay your ring finger over the three highest strings (see picture to the right). It is also possible to skip the high E-string (i.e. the 1st string), and in that case you can instead use all four fingers. If you leave out the high E-string, you will not play the fifth, but it is alright to omit that note in a 9th chord.
9th chords with flats and sharps
Additional chords in this category:
C sharp / D flat 9th: X43444
D sharp / E flat 9th: X65666
F sharp / G flat 9th: X 9 10 9 9 9
G sharp / A flat 9th: X 11 12 11 11 11
A sharp / B flat 9th: X10111
Chord formula
The ninth is built with the formula 1-3-5-b7-9.
Chord construction
C9 x - C - E - Bb - D - GD9 x - D - F# - C - E - A
E9 x - E - G# - D - F# - B
F9 x - F - A - Eb - G - C
G9 x - G - B - F - A - D
A9 x - A - C# - G - B - #E
B9 x - B - D# - A - C# - F#
Guitar versions of the chord
Notes in chord
C9 C - E - G - Bb - DD9 D - F# - A - C - E
E9 E - G# - B - D - F#
F9 F - A - C - Eb - G
G9 G - B - D - F - A
A9 A - C# - E - G - B
B9 B - D# - F# - A - C#
The intervals are 1 – 3 – 5 – b7 – 9
Chord progressions
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. In other words, a 12 Bar Blues progression could look something like:
A7 – D9 – A7 – E9 – D9 – A7
9th chord in open position
The 9th chords are most often played in closed positions as seen on diagrams above, but here are some suggestions for open 9th chords:
C9: X32330
D9: X54530
D9/F#: 200210
D#9 / Eb9: XX1021
E9: 022102 / 020132
G9: 320201 / 3X0201
A9: X02423
A#9 / Bb9: X10111
9th chord voicings without the root
An easier way to play these chords is to remove the tone on the 5th string. 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.
9th chords with bass note on 6th string
To become more flexible, you should learn a shape with its base tone on another strings. These shapes are using the 6th string for the bass and root note. None of the shapes are all that pleasing: the first include a stretch and the second creates a somewhat bassy sound.
G9: 3X320X / 3230XX
Ab9: 4X431X / 4343XX
A9: 5X5412X / 5454XX
Bb9: 6X653X / 6565XX
B9: 7X764X / 7676XX
9th chords with bass note on 4th string
Here is an alternative that use the 4th string for the bass and has the root note on the 1st string.
G9: XX3203 / XX5465
Ab9: XX4314
A9: XX5425
Bb9: XX6536
B9: XX7647
9th sus chords
It is also possible to play ninth suspended chords. A movable shape similar to that presented above can be used, here are some examples in notated form:
Chord Gitar Anugerah Terindah
B9sus: X22222
C9sus: X33333
D9sus: X55555
E9sus: X77777
F9sus: X88888
Notice that 9sus is identical with one version of the 11th chord.
9th chord alterations
Alterations means that a note in the chord is altered, for example, a flattened fifth. Here are some examples using C as root tone (the shapes are movable). To being able to play C9b5 according to the fingering below, you must bar four strings.
C9+5: X32334
C9b5: X32332
We can compare these alterations with the standard dominant ninth:
Chord construction
C9 x - C - E - Bb - D - GC9+5 x - C - E - Bb - D - G#
C9b5 x - C - E - Bb - D - Gb
Guitar versions of the chord
Notes in chord
C9 C - E - G - Bb - DC9+5 C - E - G# - Bb - D
C9b5 C - E - Gb - Bb - D
Theoretical order of notes
In C9+5 the fifth is raised and in C9b5 the fifth is flattened.
Back to chord types
Chart with guitar chords. The chart gives an overview over some often used chords in the most common played keys.
The guitar chart is printable with adjusted width to fit on an A4 paper for printers with 72 or higher dpi.
See also The Chord Chart ebook with over 500 chord diagrams.
No letter = major | maj7 = major 7 | 7 = dominant seventh chord | m = minor | m7 = minor seventh
x = don't play string | 0 = open string | 1, 2, 3 and so on = fret number
Full names: A major | A major 7th | A 7th | A minor | A minor 7th
Full names: B major | B major 7th | B 7th | B minor | B minor 7th
Full names: C major | C major 7th | C 7th | C minor | C minor 7th
Full names: D major | D major 7th | D 7th | D minor | D minor 7th
Full names: E major | E major 7th | E 7th | E minor | E minor 7th
Chord Gitar Anugerah Terindah
Chord Gitar Anyer 10 Maret
Full names: F major | F major 7th | F 7th | F minor | F minor 7thFull names: G major | G major 7th | G 7th | G minor | G minor 7th
If you are looking for more chords and various categories, go to the chords by notes section or chord by types section.
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