Ninth Chords

Let’s look at how to play an F sharp 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.

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

Then we’ll add the ninth note of the scale to the chord. Since a scale only has eight notes, we can find the ninth note by repeating 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 an F Sharp 9 Chord

Now let’s build an F sharp 9 chord on the piano. First we’ll build an F sharp major chord using the first, third and fifth notes of the F sharp major scale: F♯ – A♯ – C♯

Then we’ll find the seventh note of the F sharp major scale, E♯, and lower it 1/2 step before adding it to the chord: E

Then we’ll repeat the scale into the next octave to find the ninth note and add it to the chord: G♯

So to play an F sharp 9 chord, we’ll play:

F♯ – A♯ – C♯ – E – G♯

We can use this pattern to build any other ninth chord! We’ll first 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

Since these chords are difficult to play with the right hand only, here are some options:

We can play the F♯ with the left hand, and play the A♯ – C♯ – E – G♯ with the right hand.

Another option is to move the E and G♯ down, and play the notes in this order with fingers 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 (thumbs are 1’s): E – F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – C♯

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 an F sharp 9 chord on the piano, and you can use this knowledge to build any other ninth chord!

Chords are such a great way to learn music. When we understand how to build scales, and how the notes of a scale are used to build different chords, and how those scales and chords are built using patterns that can be applied in any key, then a new world of opportunity opens up at the piano!