F#mMaj9 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 F#mMaj9 — shell voicings
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.
F#mMaj9 notes and formula
| F# | A | C# | E# | G# |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ♭3 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
Minor tonic — melodic minor, extended.
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
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.
F#mMaj9 has 4 of them, on the bottom four strings, the top four strings and the middle four strings, from open position up to the 12th — all in one inversion, so the bass note never moves. The one to learn first is the F# shape at the nut, which is the easiest grip here.
Start with 203121 — no barre and 1 open string. 1 of the 7 shapes here sits in open position. 3 of the 7 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 1st fret to the 15th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 203121 | open position | F#, root position | E# | 1 open string |
| 243224 | 2nd fret | F#, root position | G# | barred |
| 444665 | 4th fret | G#, 9th in the bass | A | barred |
| x-9-7-10-9-x | 7th fret | F#, root position | G# | all fretted |
| 9-12-11-10-9-9 | 9th fret | C#, 2nd inversion | C# | barred |
| 14-12-x-13-14-13 | 12th fret | F#, root position | E# | all fretted |
| 14-12-15-13-x-x | 12th fret | F#, root position | G# | all fretted |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 9 drop 2, 6 drop 3 and 14 rootless voicings, each on its own page.
Tensions. A shell of F#mMaj9, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the 11 (B) and the 13 (D#).
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 a major third), F#m69 (the major seventh becomes a sixth), F#m9 (the major seventh becomes a flat seventh), F#mMaj7 (drop the ninth), F#mMaj11 (add the fourth) or F#madd9 (drop the major seventh).
F#mMaj9 is a minor chord — root, minor third, fifth. Minor chords on every root.
On F#mMaj9’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.