1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.
B♭9 (also written A♯9) is a dominant ninth chord made of 5 notes: B♭, D, F, A♭, C. It sounds funky and full, a seventh chord with more colour, and you hear it in funk, soul and blues, where it often replaces a plain 7th chord. It is the V chord of E♭ major and turns up in 2 other keys.
The library above opens on B♭9 with 14 shapes up and down the neck. Tap a shape to hear it, or play it one string at a time.
| Note | Degree | Interval from B♭ | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| B♭ | 1 | root | 0 |
| D | 3 | major third | 4 |
| F | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| A♭ | ♭7 | minor seventh | 10 |
| C | 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. With the other spelling, A♯9 is A♯, C𝄪, E♯, G♯, B♯: the same sounds under different names.
x1011xx(13)(12)(13)(13)(13)6565xx633334xx8798686768The fret 12 shape is the one to learn first. Once it is easy, try the shape at the 5th fret (6565xx): the same chord, higher and brighter, handy when the chords before and after it sit up the neck.
B♭9 belongs to 3 keys: V in E♭ major, VII in C minor, V7 in E♭ minor. In E♭ major, try I–V–vi–IV: E♭ – B♭9 – Cm – A♭.
B♭, D, F, A♭, C: the root, major third, fifth, minor seventh, ninth.
Fret 12: x(13)(12)(13)(13)(13) (low string first), rated Easy.
B♭9 has C. B♭9 sounds funky and full, a seventh chord with more colour; B♭7 sounds restless; it wants to move on, usually to the chord a fifth below.
No. The easiest shape is rated Easy and needs 3 fingers.