E9b5 guitar chord
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About E9b5 — inversions voicings
E9b5 keeps the natural 9th of , but lowers its 5th to : E, G#, Bb, D and F#.
Keep the flat 5th audible. E9b5 is not with a flat 9th; the 9th is still natural.
Also written E9(b5), E9-5 or E9♭5.
What an inversion is
How to use E9b5
E9b5 is a dominant with its tension raised, so it still points at — harder than a plain seventh does. A plain dominant has two voices a semitone from home; an altered one has four, because every altered tone is also sitting a semitone from a note of A. More voices leaning the same way is all "more tension" means here.
In a phrase:→→
The ii–V–I of A.
Voice by voice, E9b5 → . 3 voices move by a semitone, and one note is common to both chords. Those semitones are what the ear follows; the rest is the chord rearranging itself underneath.
| In E9b5 | Moves | In A |
|---|---|---|
| E, the root | stays where it is | E, the fifth |
| G#, the major third | rises a semitone | A, the root |
| Bb, the flat fifth | falls a semitone | A, the root |
| D, the flat seventh | falls a semitone | C#, the major third |
| F#, the ninth | falls a whole tone | E, the fifth |
What to play over E9b5
Useful scales
- +B#
Contains E9b5 and adds sharp fifth.
- +BC#
Adds fifth and thirteenth, for a dominant sharp-eleventh color.
Chords near E9b5
Remove a note
Change one note
3rd inversion 3rd inversion
The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in how this site is built.