Minor 9th Chords... m9
minor 7th with an added 9th- A minor 9th chord can be written as m9 or -9, with m9 the most commonly used. It can also be described as a minor 7th with an added 9th. (This is not to be confused with a dominant minor 9th chord which is a minor 7th with an added flattened or minor 9th)
- m9 chord - musical interval spanning 14 semitones - octave plus a major second or 2 semitones.
- Intervals: root, minor third, perfect fifth, minor 7th, major 9th.
- It is considered a compound interval as it spans more than an octave.
- Chord formula: 1 - ♭3 - 5 - ♭7 - 9
- Featured practice song for this session is 'Copacabana' by Barry Manilow. There are nine m9 chords here sharing the same barre-chord shape but played on different frets. This song is fairly 'heavy-going' with brisk chord changes which can be fairly challenging. If you are interested in m9 chords, you will appreciate what this song has to offer... intermediate level.
Example: Calculating a Gm9 chord
Minor 9th Chords Table
- 'G' chords, are based on the scale of G major which has 1 sharp (F#). The scale reads as follows: G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G
- As we are looking at a 9th chord, we have to extend the scale for an extra tone (2 semitones) The scale reads as follows:
G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G - A - Formula: 1 - ♭3 - 5 - ♭7 - 9
- Substitute the notes of the scale into the formula:
1=G / ♭3=♭B / 5=D / ♭7=F / 9=A - Gm9 = G - B♭ - D - F - A
| m9 | A | B♭ | B | C | C# | D | E♭ | E | F | F# | G | A♭ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Root | A | B♭ | B | C | C# | D | E♭ | E | F | F# | G | A♭ |
| Minor 3rd | C | D♭ | D | E♭ | E | F | G♭ | G | A♭ | A | B♭ | C♭(B) |
| Perfect 5th | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | B♭ | B | C | C# | D | E♭ |
| Minor 7th | G | A♭ | A | B♭ | B | C | D♭ | D | E♭ | E | F | G♭ |
| Major 9th | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | B♭ |
Minor 9th Chords - RH / LH
Chord Chart Legend
Please Note
There are a variety of options available when playing these chords. Within each chord position where you have several circles with the same finger positions on the same fret, you can play this as a barre with the first finger, or you can choose to play some of them which can be useful if you are just picking a few notes. If you do omit some of the blank dots on these particular frets accompanied with a small blue or red 'x', make sure you avoid playing the strings, as they are not within the chord structure.
Songs to try featuring m9 chords:
- A Team - Ed Sheeran
- Alone Again (Naturally) by Gilbert O'Sullivan
- Better Man by Robbie Williams
- Copacabana by Barry Manilow
