Major Ninth Chords
Let’s look at how to build an F sharp major 9 chord on the piano. We’ll also learn the pattern for building any other major ninth chord.
What Are Major Ninth Chords?
Major ninth chords are major chords with two added notes. The added notes are the seventh and ninth notes of the matching major scale.
So to build a major ninth chord, we’ll start by building a major chord. Major chords are built using the first, third and fifth notes of the matching major scale.
Next we’ll add the seventh note of the matching major scale to the chord.
Then we’ll add the ninth note of the scale to the chord. Since scales only have eight notes, to add the ninth note, we’ll 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.
How to Play an F Sharp Major 9 Chord
So to build an F sharp major ninth chord, we’ll start by building an F sharp major chord. We can 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 add the seventh note of the scale to the chord: E♯
You may be wondering why we would call this note “E♯” when it is an “F” on the piano. The reason is because we’re using the notes of the F sharp major scale to build this chord, and since the notes of a scale progress in alphabetical order, the seventh note of this scale is called “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 major 9 chord, we’ll play:
F♯ – A♯ – C♯ – E♯ – G♯
We can use this pattern to build any other major 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 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
It’s difficult to reach all these notes with one hand, so one option is to play the F♯ with the left hand, and to rearrange the remaining notes and play them in this order with the right hand using fingers 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 (thumbs are 1’s): E♯ – G♯ – A♯ – C♯
Another option would be to rearrange the notes and play them in this order with the right hand using fingers 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5: 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
Ninth
Minor Ninth
Conclusion
Now you know how to play an F sharp major 9 chord on the piano, and you can use this knowledge to build any other major ninth chord!
Using chords is a great way to learn the piano. When we understand the piano in terms of scales and chords, and we see how those patterns can be repeated starting on any note, a new world of music opens up!
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