Welcome to your comprehensive guide on the E9 Guitar Chord, a vibrant and essential addition to the dominant chord family. If you’re looking to enrich your guitar playing with complex and colorful sounds, the E9 is a perfect chord to learn. This chord, built from the notes E, G#, B, D, and F#, offers a unique sonic texture that can elevate your music.
The E9 chord is categorized as a dominant ninth chord, constructed using a specific series of intervals: the 1st, 3rd, 5th, minor 7th (b7), and major 9th. In musical terms, these intervals are known as the Root, Major Third, Perfect Fifth, Minor Seventh, and Major Ninth. Understanding intervals is crucial for grasping chord construction. For a deeper dive, explore our dedicated tutorial on fretboard intervals.
Building chords from stacked intervals is a fundamental concept in music theory. If you’re new to this idea or need a refresher, our guitar music theory tutorial provides an excellent foundation.
In this lesson, we’ll show you how to play the E9 chord in various positions using clear chord diagrams and fretboard patterns. These visual aids will highlight the notes that constitute the chord, making it easier for you to learn and memorize. For guitarists aiming to expand their chord vocabulary beyond basic shapes, our intermediate guitar chord tutorial is a valuable resource.
If you’re intrigued by ninth chords and want to explore them further, we offer a detailed ninth guitar chords tutorial. And for those interested in songwriting and chord arrangement, our guide on common chord progressions will help you understand how to use chords effectively in musical contexts.
Begin your exploration of the E9 chord today and unlock new dimensions in your guitar playing!
The Notes Within the E9 Chord:
E – G# – B – D – F#
Dominant Ninth Chord Construction: Intervals Explained
| Interval Degree | Interval Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Root |
| b2 | Minor Second |
| 2 | Major Second |
| b3 | Minor Third |
| 3 | Major Third |
| 4 | Perfect Fourth |
| b5 | Diminished Fifth |
| 5 | Perfect Fifth |
| #5 | Augmented Fifth |
| 6 | Major Sixth |
| b7 | Minor Seventh |
| 7 | Major Seventh |
| 8 | Octave |
| b9 | Minor Ninth |
| 9 | Major Ninth |
| #9 | Augmented Ninth |
| 11 | Perfect Eleventh |
| #11 | Augmented Eleventh |
| 13 | Major Thirteenth |
The chord diagrams below are organized from easier to more challenging fingerings. If you’re new to reading these diagrams, please refer to our tutorial on how to read chord diagrams.
If you encounter difficulties with barre chords, our Bar Chords Tips tutorial offers helpful techniques and advice.
For an alternative way to view E9 chord diagrams with written instructions, check out our accessible chords page.
E9 Chord Position 1: Open Position
E9 guitar chord diagram position 1 open
E9 Chord Position 2: Open Position
E9 guitar chord diagram position 2 open
E9 Chord Position 3: Open Position
E9 guitar chord diagram position 3 open
Explore a vast library of chord shapes in our all guitar chords online resource. For a printable reference, download our Free Guitar Chords Chart Pdf.
Explore E9 Chord with Different Root Notes:
C 9 | D 9 | E 9 | F 9 | G 9 | A 9 | B 9 | C#9 | D#9 | F#9 | G#9 | A#9 | Ab9 | Bb9 | Db9 | Eb9 | Gb9
Experiment with the fretboard map below to discover new ways to play the E9 chord.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
E|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|9--|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|3--|---|---|---|---|
D|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|5--|---|---|---|
A|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|b7-|---|
E|1--|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|9--|
E|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|5--|---|
G|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|b7-|---|
D|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|1--|
A|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|9--|
E|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|3--|---|---|---|---|
E|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|9--|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|3--|---|---|---|---|
D|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|5--|---|---|---|
A|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|b7-|---|
E|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|1--|
E|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|9--|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|3--|---|---|---|---|
D|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|5--|---|---|---|
A|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|b7-|---|
E|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|1--|
E|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|3--|---|
G|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|5--|---|---|---|
D|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|b7-|---|---|---|
A|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|1--|
E|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|9--|---|---|---|---|---|---|
E|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|5--|---|
G|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|b7-|---|---|---|
D|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|1--|
A|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|9--|---|---|---|---|---|---|
E|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|3--|---|---|---|---|
E|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|9--|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|3--|---|---|---|---|
D|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|5--|---|---|---|
A|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|b7-|---|
E|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|1--|
E|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|9--|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|3--|---|---|---|---|
D|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|5--|---|---|---|
A|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|b7-|---|
E|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|1--|
