Chord Voicing- 9th Chords

add9 Chords

• When you have a major chord and raise a root by a whole step, it turns into an add9 chord. If you are wondering how there can be a 9th note in a scale that has only 7 degrees, here is an explanation:
Let's look at the notes in the key of C:

I    II  III   IV   V    VI  VII  VIII  IX   X    XI  XII
C    D    E    F    G    A    B    C    D    E    F    G

• Once you reach the 8th degree, you are back at your original tonic note (in this case C). This is called an octave. Once you go past this octave, the degrees continue to count upward. Basically the 9th degree is the same note as the 2nd degree, the 11th degree is the same as the 4th degree and so on. So why not just call it an add2? Since you still have a 3rd in your major chord, a second (in name) will not be able to be used. In the sus2 chord, the 3rd was lowered to a 2nd so no 3rd was used. Here is a Cadd9 chord shown next to a C Chord:

Original C:

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX
C     E     G

Cadd9:

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX
C     E     G             D

Dominant 9th Chords

• Dominant 9th chords are used a lot in blues progressions. The formula for building a dominant 9th chord is:
  Root - 3rd - 5th - b7th - 9
  In the above section titled "add9 chords", you see how the 9th note in the scale is determined. The add9 chord was built as follows:
  Root - 3rd - 5th - 9th
  The main difference between an add9 chord and a dominant 9th chord is that a 7th is added in the dominant 9th chord. The top part of this chord (5th, b7th, 9th) is a minor triad.
  Here are a few blues progressions using Dominant 9th chords (an A dominant 9th chord looks like A9).
  The / indicates a strum (//// will be played twice as long as //).

• Blues Progression #1
  Intro:

   E9   D9   A   F9 E9
  //// //// //// // //
  

  Body:

   A    D    A    A7   D    D    A    A7   E    D    A   F9 E9
  //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// // //
  

• Blues Progression #2- Note that the B9 and C9 chord patterns look exactly the same. This means that you can move up or down the neck using this pattern to make ANY dominant 9th chord. Also notice that with the A9 chord you must bar the 2nd fret with your index finger (if you are not used to barring chords, this takes some hand strength).
  Intro:

   B9   A9   E   C9 B9
  //// //// //// // //
  

  Body:

   E    A    E    E7   A    A    E    E7   B    A    E   C9 B9
  //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// // //
  

• Blues Progression #3
  Intro:

   A9   G9   D   A#9 A9
  //// //// //// //  //
  

  Body:

   D    G    D    D7   G    G    D    D7   A    G    D   A#9 A9
  //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //// //  //
  

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