Gmaj9 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 Gmaj9 — shell voicings
Gmaj9 is G, B, D, F# and A — Gmaj7 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.
Gmaj9 notes and formula
| G | B | D | F# | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
Tonic — an extended resting chord.
Also written GM9, GΔ9, Gma9 or G major 9. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Gmaj9
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.
Gmaj9 has 3 of them, on the bottom four strings, the middle four strings and the top four strings, from the 2nd fret up to the 9th — 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 300002 — no barre and 4 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 2nd fret to the 15th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300002 | open position | G, root position | F# | 4 open strings |
| 324232 | 2nd fret | G, root position | F# | barred |
| 354435 | 3rd fret | G, root position | A | all fretted |
| xx4435 | 3rd fret | F#, 3rd inversion | A | all fretted |
| xx5475 | 4th fret | G, root position | A | all fretted |
| 755775 | 5th fret | B, 1st inversion | A | barred |
| x-10-7-7-7-7 | 7th fret | G, root position | B | barred |
| x-10-9-11-10-x | 9th fret | G, root position | A | all fretted |
| 10-10-9-11-10-x | 9th fret | D, 2nd inversion | A | barred |
| x-12-12-12-12-14 | 12th fret | A, 9th in the bass | F# | barred |
| x-x-12-14-12-14 | 12th fret | D, 2nd inversion | F# | all fretted |
| 15-12-12-12-12-14 | 12th fret | G, root position | F# | barred |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 12 drop 2, 9 drop 3, 14 rootless and 6 open string voicings, each on its own page.
Tensions. A shell of Gmaj9, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the #11 (C#) and the 13 (E).
How to use Gmaj9
How you get to it. The turn that lands on Gmaj9 is Am7 to D7 — the ii and the V of G — and D7 shares its third and seventh with Am7, so the hand barely moves between them.
In which keys. Every note of Gmaj9 belongs to D major (the IV, the subdominant), E minor (the ♭III), G major (the I, the tonic) and B minor (the ♭VI).
What to play over Gmaj9
Every note of Gmaj9 is in G major and G lydian.
Chords near Gmaj9
Change one note of Gmaj9 and you have Gmaj7 (drop the ninth), Gmaj11 (add the fourth), Gmaj13 (add the sixth), GmMaj9 (the major third becomes a minor third), Gadd9 (drop the major seventh) or G69 (the major seventh becomes a sixth).
Gmaj9 is a major chord — root, major third, fifth. Major chords on every root.
On Gmaj9’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.