Ninth Chords

Let’s look at how to play a D flat 9 chord on the piano. We’ll also learn the pattern for building any other ninth chord.

What Are Ninth Chords?

Ninth chords are major 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.

So to build a ninth chord, we’ll start by building a major chord. We can build a major chord using the first, third and fifth notes of the matching major scale.

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

Next we’ll add the ninth note of the scale to the chord. Since scales only have eight notes, to find the ninth, we’ll 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 D Flat 9 Chord

So to build a D flat 9 chord, we’ll start with a D flat major chord. We can build a D flat major chord using the first, third and fifth notes of the D flat major scale: D♭ – F – A♭

Then we’ll find the seventh note of the scale, lower it 1/2 step, and add it to the chord: C♭

You may be wondering why we would label this note as “C♭” instead of “B”. The reason is because when we build this chord, we’re taking the seventh note of the D flat major scale and lowering it 1/2 step. Since the seventh note of the D flat major scale is “C”, when we lower it 1/2 step, we label it as “C♭”.

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

So to play a D flat 9 chord, we’ll play:

D♭ – F – A♭ – C♭ – E♭

We can use this pattern to build any other ninth chord. We’ll build a major chord using the first, third and fifth notes of the matching major scale. Then we’ll find the seventh note of the scale, lower it 1/2 step, and add it to the chord. Then we’ll repeat the scale into the next octave to find the ninth note and add it to the chord.

Fingering

Ninth chords sound really pretty, but it’s difficult to reach all these notes in this order with one hand.

One option is to rearrange the notes by moving the D♭ up to the next octave, and then playing the notes in this order using fingers 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 (thumbs are 1’s): F – A♭ – C♭ – D♭ – E♭.

Another option is to play the D♭ with the left hand and use fingers 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 to play the remaining notes: F – A♭ – C♭ – E♭.

Other Chord Types

Some of the other chord types we can learn are:

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

Conclusion

Now you know how to play a D flat 9 chord on the piano, and you can use this knowledge to build any other ninth chord!

These chords are more complex, but it’s good to understand how to build them for when you need them or for when you want to incorporate them into your own music!