Am9 Chord on Guitar

1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.

Am9 is a minor ninth chord made of 5 notes: A, C, E, G, B. It sounds lush and smooth, and you hear it in neo-soul, R&B and jazz ballads. It is the i chord of A minor and turns up in 5 other keys.

The library above opens on Am9 with 14 shapes up and down the neck. Tap a shape to hear it, or play it one string at a time.

Notes in Am9

Note	Degree	Interval from A	Semitones
A	1	root	0
C	♭3	minor third	3
E	5	perfect fifth	7
G	♭7	minor seventh	10
B	9	major ninth	14

Formula: 1 – ♭3 – 5 – ♭7 – 9. On guitar the 5th is often left out of the bigger shapes without changing the chord.

How to play Am9

Fret 3Beginner535000

Fret 5Beginner505500

Fret 3Beginnerx05503

Fret 10Easyx(12)(10)(12)(12)(12)

Open positionMediumx02413

Fret 3Easy5354xx

Fret 3 (root on the 6th string), step by step

1st finger (index): 5th string, 3rd fret (C, the minor third).
2nd finger (middle): 6th string, 5th fret (A, the root).
3rd finger (ring): 4th string, 5th fret (G, the minor seventh).
Let the 3rd string, 2nd string, 1st string ring open (G, B, E).
Strum from the 6th string across all six strings.

Tips

The fret 3 shape is the one to learn first. Once it is easy, try the shape at the 5th fret (505500): the same chord, higher and brighter, handy when the chords before and after it sit up the neck.

Keys and progressions with Am9

Am9 belongs to 6 keys: vi in C major, iii in F major, ii in G major, v in D minor, iv in E minor, i in A minor. In A minor, try i–VI–III–VII: Am9 – F – C – G.