Cm9 Chord on Guitar

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

Cm9 is a minor ninth chord made of 5 notes: C, E♭, G, B♭, D. It sounds lush and smooth, and you hear it in neo-soul, R&B and jazz ballads. It is the i chord of C minor and turns up in 5 other keys.

The library above opens on Cm9 with 14 shapes up and down the neck. Tap a shape to hear it, or play it one string at a time.

Notes in Cm9

Note	Degree	Interval from C	Semitones
C	1	root	0
E♭	♭3	minor third	3
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.

How to play Cm9

Open positionBeginnerx3034x

Fret 1Easyx31333

Fret 13Easyx(15)(13)(15)(15)(15)

Fret 6Easy8687xx

Fret 5Medium858886

E-shape barre at fret 8Medium8(10)888(10)

Fret 1 (root on the 5th string), step by step

1st finger (index): 4th string, 1st fret (E♭, the minor third).
2nd finger (middle): 5th string, 3rd fret (C, the root).
3rd finger (ring): across the 3rd string and 2nd string and 1st string at the 3rd fret (B♭, D, G).
Strum from the 5th string, and keep the 6th string quiet.

Tips

The fret 1 shape is the one to learn first. Once it is easy, try the shape at the 13th fret (x(15)(13)(15)(15)(15)): the same chord, higher and brighter, handy when the chords before and after it sit up the neck.

Keys and progressions with Cm9

Cm9 belongs to 6 keys: vi in E♭ major, iii in A♭ major, ii in B♭ major, i in C minor, v in F minor, iv in G minor. In C minor, try i–VI–III–VII: Cm9 – A♭ – E♭ – B♭.