1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.
E9 is a dominant ninth chord made of 5 notes: E, G♯, B, D, F♯. 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 A major and turns up in 2 other keys.
The library above opens on E9 with 14 shapes up and down the neck, starting with hand-checked ones. Tap a shape to hear it, or play it one string at a time.
| Note | Degree | Interval from E | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| E | 1 | root | 0 |
| G♯ | 3 | major third | 4 |
| B | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| D | ♭7 | minor seventh | 10 |
| F♯ | 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.
020102x7677x0221320244340(11)0(11)0(10)054404The open position shape is the one to learn first. Once it is easy, try the shape at the 6th fret (x7677x): the same chord, higher and brighter, handy when the chords before and after it sit up the neck.
E9 belongs to 3 keys: V in A major, VII in F♯ minor, V7 in A minor. In A major, try I–V–vi–IV: A – E9 – F♯m – D.
E, G♯, B, D, F♯: the root, major third, fifth, minor seventh, ninth.
Open position: 020102 (low string first), rated Beginner.
E9 has F♯. E9 sounds funky and full, a seventh chord with more colour; E7 sounds restless; it wants to move on, usually to the chord a fifth below.
No. The easiest shape is rated Beginner and needs 3 fingers.