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Dominant Ninth Chords

Let's look now at some more chord types that are very useful substitutes for the Dominant Seventh Chords. These chords will allow us to add some dramatic tension to our chord progressions. These chords are very common in the traditional Blues style, usually in the 4th and 5th interval positions, but occasionally in the 1st interval position as well. These are moveable chord forms just like our bar chords. The fingerings may be challenging at first, but with practice you will eventually play them effortlessly!

A Dominant Ninth Chord consists of the following intervals: 1 3 5 b7 9. Notice that the chord has five notes, whereas you only have five fingers. So, for these chords that include more intervals than you have fingers, in some cases we are going to drop one or more of the intervals. The fifth interval is the least critical to the overall mood of the chord, so it will be the first to go.

We will continue by examining a G9. Let’s take a look at the intervals of this chord. The key reference for this chord form will be the sixth string. However, notice that we do not actually fret the note on the sixth string. We merely take mental note of it as a key reference, then omit the actual note when we make the chord. Thus we have the implied root note of G, then the third interval of B, then the ninth interval A, then the fifth interval D. Take note that we are going to mute the sixth and first strings when playing this chord.

Now, let’s look at the version of this chord that refers to the fifth string for the root note. The C9 chord shown above contains the intervals 1 3 b7 9. Notice that we have indeed dropped the fifth interval note in this fingering. You could include the fifth interval G note on the firth string, 3rd fret if you prefer. However, the fingering shown in the diagram is sufficient to carry the sense of the chord.

For application of this chord, try the following chord progression: G7, C9, G7, D9. Make the D9 by simply sliding the C9 up two frets. Take notice of how tense these chords sound, which leads to a very satisfying sense of resolution when resolving this dramatic tension by returning to the G7 chord. This is the essence of the Blues style.

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