If you want to add a jazzy edge to your guitar playing, using 9th chords is a powerful tool that adds a smooth and sophisticated sound to your music. Before learning 9th chords, I recommend first checking out the guide on 7th chords if you don’t know them already.
In this lesson, we’ll break down how the C 7 (9) aka C 9 chord works and show you 11 ways to play it on the guitar. Let’s get started!
C7 (9) chord theory
Whenever you see a 7 (9), this implies a Dominant chord with an added 9th interval. This means the chord has the following chord tones: 1, 3, 5, b7, and 9.
For example, the C 7 (9) chord has the notes C, E, G, Bb, and D.
The extension of the 9th note adds a nice tension to your chord as you’ll hear in the examples ahead.
Here is the formula for the Dominant 7 (9) chord below.
Now that you know what notes belong to the chord structure, let’s look at how to read the chord charts.
How to read the chord charts
For the charts below:
- The top horizontal line of the chord chart represents the high E string and the bottom horizontal line represents the low E string.
- The vertical lines separate each fret.
- The numbers in the blue dots tell you which fingers to use on the fretting hand.
- The letters on the right of the charts tell you what notes you are playing on each string.
- Circles on the left represent open strings.
- Red X means to avoid that string.
You can check this link for more about reading guitar notation symbols.
1. C 9 on the 5th string
This is the classic and simple way to play this chord.
2. C 9 rootless starting on the 4th string
This is built from the previous shape which can be played as a rootless voicing and adding a note on the 1st string.
3. C 9 barre chord
This is technically the same as the 1st shape but uses a barre to add the note on the first string. This one can be difficult to play if you’ve never tried it. If needed, you can review the other ones and come back to this one.
4. C 9 barre on the 6th string
Easily look up guitar chords with the Essential Guitar Chords Chart!
This chart covers how to play:
- Major chords
- Minor chords
- Major 7 chords
- Minor 7 chords
- Dominant chords
- Half diminished chords
- Diminished chords
- Chords starting on all (12) root notes
- Over 80+ chords!
5. C 9 rootless variation on the 4th string
This is the same as the previous chord except using a rootless voicing.
6. C 9 on the 6th string
7. C 9 3rd inversion
This shape comes from the previous one, except we add the root note to the top of the chord on the 1st string.
8. C 9 rootless on the 5th string
This chord has a nice sound even as a rootless voicing. You may also know this as a typical E min 7 b5 chord shape.
9. C 9 6th string variation
This chord is a bit of a stretch but worth learning because of the full sound you get.
10. C 9 on the 4th string
11. C 9 4th string variation
Wrapping Up
Building on the foundation of 7th chords, the C 7 (9) chord incorporates an additional 9th interval on top of the C 7 chord structure. This extended chord adds a smooth and sophisticated sound that’s perfect for jazz, blues, and other genres.
You can play even more variations of this chord by using inversions on different strings. You can see this other lesson to learn how to play chord inversions on guitar.
If you want to take your chords even further, see this lesson on jazz chords on guitar.
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All the best,
JG Music Lessons
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