1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.
C♯9 (also written D♭9) is a dominant ninth chord made of 5 notes: C♯, E♯, G♯, B, D♯. 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 F♯ major and turns up in 2 other keys.
The library above opens on C♯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 C♯ | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| C♯ | 1 | root | 0 |
| E♯ | 3 | major third | 4 |
| G♯ | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| B | ♭7 | minor seventh | 10 |
| D♯ | 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, D♭9 is D♭, F, A♭, C♭, E♭: the same sounds under different names.
x43444x411019898xx966667xx(11)(10)(12)(11)9(11)9(10)9(11)The fret 3 shape is the one to learn first. Once it is easy, try the shape at the 8th fret (9898xx): the same chord, higher and brighter, handy when the chords before and after it sit up the neck.
C♯9 belongs to 3 keys: V in F♯ major, VII in E♭ minor, V7 in F♯ minor. In F♯ major, try I–V–vi–IV: F♯ – C♯9 – D♯m – B.
C♯, E♯, G♯, B, D♯: the root, major third, fifth, minor seventh, ninth.
Fret 3: x43444 (low string first), rated Easy.
C♯9 has D♯. C♯9 sounds funky and full, a seventh chord with more colour; C♯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.