Minor Ninth Chords

Let’s look at how to play a Cm9 (C minor ninth) chord on the piano. We’ll also learn the pattern for building any minor ninth chord.

What Are Minor Ninth Chords?

Minor ninth chords are minor chords with two added notes. The added notes are the seventh note of the matching major scale, lowered 1/2 step, and the ninth note of the scale.

To build a minor ninth chord, we’ll start by building a minor chord. We can build a minor chord by first building the matching major chord, then lowering the middle note 1/2 step.

To add the next note to the chord, we’ll find the seventh note of the matching major scale and lower it 1/2 step.

The last note of the chord is the ninth note of the matching major scale. Since scales only have eight notes, to find the ninth, we need to repeat the scale into the next octave. The ninth note is the same as the second note of the scale, but one octave up.

Chord Types Printable

Learn to play 17 types of piano chords using 12 different root notes with this 35-page PDF! Chords are sorted both by their root note and type.

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How to Play a Cm9 Chord

To build a Cm9 chord on the piano, we’ll first build our C minor chord by taking a C major chord (C – E – G) and lowering the middle note 1/2 step: C – E♭ – G

Then we’ll find the seventh note of the C major scale, which is B, and lower it 1/2 step: B♭

Then we’ll repeat the scale into the next octave to find the ninth note: D

So to play a Cm9 chord, we’d play:

C – E♭ – G – B♭ – D

Now you know how to build a Cm9 chord on the piano, and you can use this pattern to build any minor ninth chord. Just build a minor chord, then add the seventh note of the matching major scale, lowered 1/2 step, and the ninth note of the scale.

Fingering

You probably can’t reach all these notes in that order with your right hand only, so you have a couple options. One option would be to play the C with your left hand, and the other notes with your right. You would use fingers 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 to play the E♭ – G – B♭ – D (thumbs are 1’s).

Another option would be to move the D back down to the position of a second, and play both the C and D with your thumb at an angle. The fingering for this would be 1 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 to play C – D – E♭ – G – B♭.

Other Chord Types

Some of the other chord types you can learn are:

Major
Minor
Augmented
Diminished
Second
Minor second
Suspended
Fifth
Sixth
Minor Sixth
Seventh
Minor Seventh
Major Seventh
Ninth
Major ninth

Conclusion

Now you know how to build a Cm9 chord on the piano, and you can use this pattern to build any minor ninth chord.

Chords are a great way to learn the piano, since they leave lots of room for creativity and personal expression.