F#mMaj9 guitar chord
The standard grips this chord is usually shown with.
- Tap a note to hear it
- Arrows change position
- Fingers, notes or intervals
- Play the chord
About F#mMaj9 — 2nd inversion
F#mMaj9 is F#, A, C#, E# and G# — F#mMaj7 with the ninth added on top.
It sounds the same unease with more colour over it. The ninth softens the edge without resolving anything.
Minor tonic — melodic minor, extended.
F#mMaj9 notes and formula
| F# | A | C# | E# | G# |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ♭3 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
Also written F#mM9, F#m(maj9) or F#-Δ9. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play F#mMaj9
F#mMaj9 in 2nd inversion puts C# in the bass instead of F#, the 5th 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.
One of F#mMaj9’s 7 common shapes does this:9-12-11-10-9-9
Play F#mMaj9 as a shell — root, third and seventh — and the spare string takes the 11 (B) or the 13 (D#).
All 7 common shapes as fret numbers, lowest string first. Hover or tap one to see it drawn.
- 203121, open position, F#, root position, top note E#, 1 open string
- 243224, 2nd fret, F#, root position, top note G#, barred
- 444665, 4th fret, G#, 9th in the bass, top note A, barred
- x-9-7-10-9-x, 7th fret, F#, root position, top note G#, all fretted
- 9-12-11-10-9-9, 9th fret, C#, 2nd inversion, top note C#, barred
- 14-12-x-13-14-13, 12th fret, F#, root position, top note E#, all fretted
- 14-12-15-13-x-x, 12th fret, F#, root position, top note G#, all fretted
How to use F#mMaj9
How you get to it. The turn that lands on F#mMaj9 is G#m7♭5 to C#7♭9: the ii and the V of F# minor, which is where a minor tonic is usually arrived at rather than simply begun on.
What to play over F#mMaj9
Every note of F#mMaj9 is in F# harmonic minor and F# melodic minor.
Chords near F#mMaj9
Change one note of F#mMaj9 and you have F#maj9 (the minor third becomes the major third), F#m69 (the major seventh becomes the sixth), F#m9 (the major seventh becomes the flat seventh), F#mMaj7 (drop the ninth), F#mMaj11 (add the eleventh) or F#madd9 (drop the major seventh).
F#mMaj9 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.