Ninths
B major 9th chord
Rich and dreamy; the major 7th extended with a 9th.
- Notes
- BD♯F♯A♯C♯
- Formula
- 13579
- Built from
- root · major 3rd · perfect 5th · major 7th · major 9th
How to play Bmaj9
About the B major 9th chord
Playing it
On guitar, the usual Bmaj9 shape is x2132x at the 1st fret. It has no open strings, so it’s a movable shape — slide it along the neck for other major 9th chords. Don’t strum the low E and high E strings.
On piano, Bmaj9 has four black keys (D♯, F♯, A♯ and C♯) and one white key. In root position it spans more than an octave, so many pianists play the root with the left hand and the rest with the right.
On ukulele the usual Bmaj9 shape is 6666, with the index finger barring all four strings at the 6th fret. It leaves out the root, which a bass player (or your ear) fills in.
