Emaj9 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 Emaj9 — shell voicings
Emaj9 is E, G#, B, D# and F# — Emaj7 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.
Emaj9 notes and formula
| E | G# | B | D# | F# |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
Tonic — an extended resting chord.
Also written EM9, EΔ9, Ema9 or E major 9. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Emaj9
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.
Emaj9 has 4 of them, on the middle four strings, the bottom four strings and the top four strings, from open position up to the 11th — all in one inversion, so the bass note never moves. The one to learn first is the E shape at the 6th fret, which is the easiest grip here.
Start with 021102 — no barre and 2 open strings. 1 of the 12 shapes here sits in open position. 6 of the 12 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 1st fret to the 14th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 021102 | open position | E, root position | F# | 2 open strings |
| xx2142 | 1st fret | E, root position | F# | all fretted |
| 422442 | 2nd fret | G#, 1st inversion | F# | barred |
| x74444 | 4th fret | E, root position | G# | barred |
| x7687x | 6th fret | E, root position | F# | all fretted |
| 77687x | 6th fret | B, 2nd inversion | F# | barred |
| x-9-9-9-9-11 | 9th fret | F#, 9th in the bass | D# | barred |
| x-x-9-11-9-11 | 9th fret | B, 2nd inversion | D# | all fretted |
| 12-9-9-9-9-11 | 9th fret | E, root position | D# | barred |
| 12-11-13-11-12-11 | 11th fret | E, root position | D# | barred |
| 12-14-13-13-12-14 | 12th fret | E, root position | F# | all fretted |
| x-x-13-13-12-14 | 12th fret | D#, 3rd inversion | F# | all fretted |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 11 drop 2, 7 drop 3, 13 rootless and 3 open string voicings, each on its own page.
Tensions. A shell of Emaj9, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the #11 (A#) and the 13 (C#).
How to use Emaj9
How you get to it. The turn that lands on Emaj9 is F#m7 to B7 — the ii and the V of E — and B7 shares its third and seventh with F#m7, so the hand barely moves between them.
In which keys. Every note of Emaj9 belongs to C# minor (the ♭III), E major (the I, the tonic), Ab minor (the ♭VI) and B major (the IV, the subdominant).
What to play over Emaj9
Every note of Emaj9 is in E major and E lydian.
Chords near Emaj9
Change one note of Emaj9 and you have Emaj7 (drop the ninth), Emaj11 (add the fourth), Emaj13 (add the sixth), EmMaj9 (the major third becomes a minor third), Eadd9 (drop the major seventh) or E69 (the major seventh becomes a sixth).
Emaj9 is a major chord — root, major third, fifth. Major chords on every root.
On Emaj9’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.