G9 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 G9 — shell voicings
G9 is G, B, D, F and A — G7 with the ninth stacked on top.
It sounds bright and full, still clearly pulling. The ninth adds height without softening the tritone underneath it, which is why funk and soul comp on this rather than on a plain 7.
G9 notes and formula
| G | B | D | F | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 5 | ♭7 | 9 |
Dominant — the same pull as a 7, with more colour.
Also written Gdom9 or G dominant 9. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play G9
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.
G9 has 4 of them, on the bottom four strings, the top four strings and the middle four strings, from the 2nd fret up to the 14th — all in one inversion, so the bass note never moves. The one to learn first is the G shape at the 2nd fret, which is the easiest grip here.
Start with 300001 — no barre and 4 open strings. 1 of the 10 shapes here sits in open position. 6 of the 10 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 1st fret to the 15th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300001 | open position | G, root position | F | 4 open strings |
| 3232xx | 2nd fret | G, root position | A | all fretted |
| 353235 | 2nd fret | G, root position | A | barred |
| 353435 | 3rd fret | G, root position | A | barred |
| xx5465 | 4th fret | G, root position | A | all fretted |
| 7x5765 | 5th fret | B, 1st inversion | A | all fretted |
| x-10-9-10-10-10 | 9th fret | G, root position | D | barred |
| x-12-12-12-12-13 | 12th fret | A, 9th in the bass | F | barred |
| 15-12-12-14-12-13 | 12th fret | G, root position | F | barred |
| 15-14-15-14-15-x | 14th fret | G, root position | D | barred |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 15 drop 2, 10 drop 3, 15 rootless and 6 open string voicings, each on its own page.
Tensions. A shell of G9, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the #11 (C#), the b13 (Eb) and the 13 (E).
How to use G9
G9 is the V of C, and that is where it goes if it goes anywhere: the third and the flat seventh are a tritone apart, and both resolve by a semitone into C.
Voice by voice, G9 → C. 2 voices move by a semitone, and one note is common to both chords.
| In G9 | Moves | In C |
|---|---|---|
| G, the root | stays where it is | G, the fifth |
| B, the major third | rises a semitone | C, the root |
| D, the fifth | falls a whole tone | C, the root |
| F, the flat seventh | falls a semitone | E, the major third |
| A, the ninth | falls a whole tone | G, the fifth |
In which keys. Every note of G9 belongs to C major (the V, the dominant) and A minor (the ♭VII).
What to play over G9
Every note of G9 is in G mixolydian and G lydian dominant.
Chords near G9
Change one note of G9 and you have Gmaj9 (the flat seventh becomes a major seventh), Gm9 (the major third becomes a minor third), Gadd9 (drop the flat seventh), G69 (the flat seventh becomes a sixth), G7 (drop the ninth) or G9b5 (the fifth becomes a flat fifth).
G9 is a dominant chord — root, major third, fifth, minor seventh. Dominant seventh chords on every root.
On G9’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.