G9b5 guitar chord
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About G9b5 — 3rd inversion
G9b5 keeps the natural 9th of , but lowers its 5th to : G, B, Db, F and A.
Keep the flat 5th audible. G9b5 is not with a flat 9th; the 9th is still natural.
Also written G9(b5), G9-5 or G9♭5.
What 3rd inversion means
G9b5 in 3rd inversion puts F in the bass instead of G, the 7th 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 G9b5’s 10 shapes does this:xx3425
How to use G9b5
G9b5 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 C. More voices leaning the same way is all "more tension" means here.
In a phrase:→→
The ii–V–I of C.
Voice by voice, G9b5 → . 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 G9b5 | Moves | In C |
|---|---|---|
| G, the root | stays where it is | G, the fifth |
| B, the major third | rises a semitone | C, the root |
| Db, the flat fifth | falls a semitone | C, the root |
| F, the flat seventh | falls a semitone | E, the major third |
| A, the ninth | falls a whole tone | G, the fifth |
What to play over G9b5
Useful scales
- +D#
Contains G9b5 and adds sharp fifth.
- +DE
Adds fifth and thirteenth, for a dominant sharp-eleventh color.
Chords near G9b5
Change one note
3rd inversion 3rd inversion 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.