1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.
D9 is a dominant ninth chord made of 5 notes: D, F♯, A, C, E. 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 G major and turns up in 2 other keys.
The library above opens on D9 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 D | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| D | 1 | root | 0 |
| F♯ | 3 | major third | 4 |
| A | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| C | ♭7 | minor seventh | 10 |
| E | 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.
x54555(10)9(10)9xxx50570(10)77778xx(12)(11)(13)(12)(10)(12)(10)(11)(10)(12)The fret 4 shape is the one to learn first. Once it is easy, try the shape at the 9th fret ((10)9(10)9xx): the same chord, higher and brighter, handy when the chords before and after it sit up the neck.
D9 belongs to 3 keys: V in G major, VII in E minor, V7 in G minor. In G major, try I–V–vi–IV: G – D9 – Em – C.
D, F♯, A, C, E: the root, major third, fifth, minor seventh, ninth.
Fret 4: x54555 (low string first), rated Easy.
D9 has E. D9 sounds funky and full, a seventh chord with more colour; D7 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.