E7b9 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 E7b9 — shell voicings
E7b9 is E, G#, B, D and F — E9 with the ninth lowered a semitone.
It sounds dark and urgent. The flat ninth comes from the harmonic minor, so this is the V of a minor key rather than a major one.
E7b9 notes and formula
| E | G# | B | D | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 5 | ♭7 | ♭9 |
Altered dominant — it points at a minor chord.
Also written E7(b9), E7-9 or E7♭9. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play E7b9
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.
E7b9 has 6 of them, on the top four strings, the middle four strings, the bottom four strings and strings 6-4-3-2, from open position up to the 13th — all in one inversion, so the bass note never moves. The one to learn first is the E shape at the nut, which is the easiest grip here.
Start with 020101 — no barre and 3 open strings. 2 of the 8 shapes here sit in open position. 2 of the 8 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 1st fret to the 15th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 020101 | open position | E, root position | F | 3 open strings |
| xx2131 | 1st fret | E, root position | F | all fretted |
| 050464 | open position | E, root position | G# | 2 open strings |
| x76767 | 6th fret | E, root position | B | barred |
| 12-11-12-10-x-x | 10th fret | E, root position | F | all fretted |
| x-x-12-13-12-13 | 12th fret | D, 3rd inversion | F | all fretted |
| 12-14-12-13-12-13 | 12th fret | E, root position | F | barred |
| x-x-14-13-15-13 | 13th fret | E, root position | F | all fretted |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 13 drop 2, 9 drop 3, 15 rootless and 4 open string voicings, each on its own page.
Tensions. A shell of E7b9, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the #11 (A#), the b13 (C) and the 13 (C#).
How to use E7b9
E7b9 is a dominant with its tension raised, so it still points at A — harder than a plain seventh does, because the altered tones sit a semitone from where they are going.
Voice by voice, E7b9 → Am. 3 voices move by a semitone, and one note is common to both chords.
| In E7b9 | Moves | In Am |
|---|---|---|
| E, the root | stays where it is | E, the fifth |
| G#, the major third | rises a semitone | A, the root |
| B, the fifth | rises a semitone | C, the minor third |
| D, the flat seventh | falls a whole tone | C, the minor third |
| F, the flat ninth | falls a semitone | E, the fifth |
What to play over E7b9
Every note of E7b9 is in E half-whole diminished.
Chords near E7b9
Change one note of E7b9 and you have E7 (drop the flat ninth), Ealt (the fifth becomes a sharp fifth), E9 (the flat ninth becomes a ninth), E7#9 (the flat ninth becomes a minor third), E/F (drop the flat seventh) or E/D (drop the flat ninth).
E7b9 is an altered chord — a dominant seventh with its fifth or ninth moved. Altered dominant chords on every root.
On E7b9’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.