Bm9

Bm9 is B, D, F#, A and C#, a minor ninth. The shape this page opens on is written x20222, lowest string first.

Also written Bmin9, B-9 or B minor 9. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.

There are 8 common shapes for Bm9 on the guitar, and 45 derived voicings in 5 families.

In which keys. Every note of Bm9 belongs to D major (the vi), F# minor (the iv), A major (the ii) and B minor (the i).

The common shapes, written lowest string first: x20222, x44435, xx4635, 75x675, x57677, 797779, 10-12-11-11-12-10, x-14-12-14-14-x.

Shell. 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. Bm9 has x2022x, 7576xx, x-14-12-14-14-x, x-x-9-7-10-9, 7x022x.

Drop 2. A close-position chord with the second voice from the top lowered an octave. Sits on four adjacent strings. Bm9 has x2022x, 5404xx, 7576xx, x-14-12-14-14-x, xx0425, x4743x, xx7637, x-x-9-7-10-9.

Drop 3. The third voice from the top lowered an octave. The dropped voice becomes the bass, which is why a string is skipped. Bm9 has 5x042x, x4x435, 7x763x, 9-x-9-7-10-x, x-14-x-14-14-10, 10-x-11-14-12-x, x-5-x-6-10-7, x-12-x-7-12-9.

Rootless. The root left to the bass player. Frees a finger for a tension. Bm9 has x4423x, xx0222, x5767x, xx7779, x-x-11-11-10-10, x-x-12-14-14-14, x4x232, xx4635.

Open string. An open string left ringing against a fretted grip. Because it costs no finger, it sounds a note the closed shape has none left for -- a tension on top, or a pedal root underneath. Either a familiar grip with open strings added, or a shape so sparse the open strings carry the chord. These belong to their key rather than to a shape, so D, A, G and E have many and Eb a handful. Bm9 has 757600, x44230, x57670, x00600, 5x0600, x00604.

Tensions. A shell of Bm9, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the 11 (E) and the 13 (G#).

The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.