C#madd9 guitar chord
- Tap a note to hear it
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- Fingers, notes or intervals
- Play the chord
About C#madd9 — 1st inversion
C#madd9 is C#, E, G# and D# — C#m with the ninth added, and no seventh.
It sounds sharp-edged. The ninth grinding a whole step under the minor third is the edge an m9 softens.
Minor tonic — a triad with one colour on it.
C#madd9 notes and formula
| C# | E | G# | D# |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ♭3 | 5 | 9 |
Also written C#m(add9), C#min(add9) or C#-add9. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play C#madd9
C#madd9 in 1st inversion puts E in the bass instead of C#, the 3rd of the chord. The notes are the same; what changes is what the bass line does, which is most of why you would reach for it — it lets the lowest voice move by step where the root would have jumped.
2 of C#madd9’s 8 common shapes do this:x7664xx-x-14-13-14-11
All 8 common shapes as fret numbers, lowest string first. Hover or tap one to see it drawn.
- x4214x, 1st fret, C#, root position, top note D#, all fretted
- x42x44, 2nd fret, C#, root position, top note G#, barred
- x46640, open position, C#, root position, top note E, 1 open string
- x7664x, 4th fret, E, 1st inversion, top note D#, all fretted
- 97x890, 7th fret, C#, root position, top note G#, 1 open string
- 9-11-11-9-9-11, 9th fret, C#, root position, top note D#, barred
- x-x-11-9-9-11, 9th fret, C#, root position, top note D#, all fretted
- x-x-14-13-14-11, 11th fret, E, 1st inversion, top note D#, all fretted
How to use C#madd9
How you get to it. The turn that lands on C#madd9 is D#m7♭5 to G#7♭9: the ii and the V of C# minor, which is where a minor tonic is usually arrived at rather than simply begun on.
In which keys. Every note of C#madd9 belongs to C# minor (the i, the tonic), E major (the vi, the submediant), Ab minor (the iv, the subdominant) and B major (the ii, the supertonic).
What to play over C#madd9
Every note of C#madd9 is in C# dorian, C# natural minor, C# harmonic minor and C# melodic minor.
Chords near C#madd9
Change one note of C#madd9 and you have C#m (drop the ninth), C#sus2 (drop the minor third), C#sus2sus4 (the minor third becomes the fourth), C#m6 (the ninth becomes the sixth), C#m69 (add the sixth) or C#m7 (the ninth becomes the flat seventh).
C#madd9 is a minor chord — root, minor third, fifth. Minor chords on every root.
The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in how this site is built.