Amaj9 guitar chord
Root, third and seventh: the guide tones fix the quality, so the fifth is dropped. That is what leaves a string free, so pick a tension to put on top.
- Tap a note to hear it
- Arrows change position
- Fingers, notes or intervals
- Play the chord
About Amaj9 — shell voicings
Amaj9 is A, C#, E, G# and B — Amaj7 with the ninth stacked above it.
It sounds a maj7 with more air in it. The ninth argues with nothing here, so it works anywhere a maj7 does.
Amaj9 notes and formula
| A | C# | E | G# | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
Tonic — an extended resting chord.
Also written AM9, AΔ9, Ama9 or A major 9. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Amaj9
Root, third and seventh. The third and seventh, the guide tones, are what make the chord major, minor or dominant, so the fifth can go: it says nothing the symbol needs.
Three notes means a spare string, which is the real point. Put a tension on it.
Amaj9 has 3 of them, on the bottom four strings, the middle four strings and the top four strings, from the 4th fret up to the 11th — all in one inversion, so the bass note never moves. The one to learn first is the A shape at the 4th fret, which is the easiest grip here.
Start with x02424 — no barre and 1 open string. 2 of the 14 shapes here sit in open position. 6 of the 14 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 2nd fret to the 13th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| x02424 | open position | A, root position | G# | 1 open string |
| x22224 | 2nd fret | B, 9th in the bass | G# | barred |
| xx2424 | 2nd fret | E, 2nd inversion | G# | all fretted |
| 522224 | 2nd fret | A, root position | G# | barred |
| 546450 | open position | A, root position | E | 1 open string |
| 546454 | 4th fret | A, root position | G# | barred |
| x06657 | 5th fret | A, root position | B | 1 open string |
| 576657 | 5th fret | A, root position | B | all fretted |
| xx6657 | 5th fret | G#, 3rd inversion | B | all fretted |
| xx7697 | 6th fret | A, root position | B | all fretted |
| 977997 | 7th fret | C#, 1st inversion | B | barred |
| x-12-9-9-9-9 | 9th fret | A, root position | C# | barred |
| x-12-11-13-12-x | 11th fret | A, root position | B | all fretted |
| 12-12-11-13-12-x | 11th fret | E, 2nd inversion | B | barred |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 10 drop 2, 7 drop 3, 14 rootless and 5 open string voicings, each on its own page.
Tensions. A shell of Amaj9, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the #11 (D#) and the 13 (F#).
How to use Amaj9
How you get to it. The turn that lands on Amaj9 is Bm7 to E7 — the ii and the V of A — and E7 shares its third and seventh with Bm7, so the hand barely moves between them.
In which keys. Every note of Amaj9 belongs to C# minor (the ♭VI), E major (the IV, the subdominant), F# minor (the ♭III) and A major (the I, the tonic).
What to play over Amaj9
Every note of Amaj9 is in A major and A lydian.
Chords near Amaj9
Change one note of Amaj9 and you have Amaj7 (drop the ninth), Amaj11 (add the fourth), Amaj13 (add the sixth), AmMaj9 (the major third becomes a minor third), Aadd9 (drop the major seventh) or A69 (the major seventh becomes a sixth).
Amaj9 is a major chord — root, major third, fifth. Major chords on every root.
On Amaj9’s sound and use this page follows Mark Levine, The Jazz Theory Book (Sher Music, 1995). The shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.