Cmaj9 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 Cmaj9 — shell voicings
Cmaj9 is C, E, G, B and D — Cmaj7 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.
Cmaj9 notes and formula
| C | E | G | B | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
Tonic — an extended resting chord.
Also written CM9, CΔ9, Cma9 or C major 9. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Cmaj9
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.
Cmaj9 has 3 of them, on the middle four strings, the bottom four strings and the top four strings, from the 2nd fret up to the 9th — all in one inversion, so the bass note never moves. The one to learn first is the C shape at the 2nd fret, which is the easiest grip here.
Start with x30000 — no barre and 4 open strings. 1 of the 13 shapes here sits in open position. 7 of the 13 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 2nd fret to the 15th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| x30000 | open position | C, root position | E | 4 open strings |
| x3243x | 2nd fret | C, root position | D | all fretted |
| 33243x | 2nd fret | G, 2nd inversion | D | barred |
| 055557 | 5th fret | E, 1st inversion | B | barred |
| x55557 | 5th fret | D, 9th in the bass | B | barred |
| xx5757 | 5th fret | G, 2nd inversion | B | all fretted |
| 855557 | 5th fret | C, root position | B | barred |
| 879787 | 7th fret | C, root position | B | barred |
| 8-10-9-9-8-10 | 8th fret | C, root position | D | all fretted |
| x-x-9-9-8-10 | 8th fret | B, 3rd inversion | D | all fretted |
| x-x-10-9-12-10 | 9th fret | C, root position | D | all fretted |
| 12-10-10-12-12-10 | 10th fret | E, 1st inversion | D | barred |
| x-15-12-12-12-12 | 12th fret | C, root position | E | barred |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 12 drop 2, 8 drop 3, 15 rootless and 6 open string voicings, each on its own page.
Tensions. A shell of Cmaj9, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the #11 (F#) and the 13 (A).
How to use Cmaj9
How you get to it. The turn that lands on Cmaj9 is Dm7 to G7 — the ii and the V of C — and G7 shares its third and seventh with Dm7, so the hand barely moves between them.
In which keys. Every note of Cmaj9 belongs to C major (the I, the tonic), E minor (the ♭VI), G major (the IV, the subdominant) and A minor (the ♭III).
What to play over Cmaj9
Every note of Cmaj9 is in C major and C lydian.
Chords near Cmaj9
Change one note of Cmaj9 and you have Cmaj7 (drop the ninth), Cmaj11 (add the fourth), Cmaj13 (add the sixth), CmMaj9 (the major third becomes a minor third), Cadd9 (drop the major seventh) or C69 (the major seventh becomes a sixth).
Cmaj9 is a major chord — root, major third, fifth. Major chords on every root.
On Cmaj9’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.