Piano chord · Ninths
D♯ minor 9th chord on piano
Right hand: D♯ (1), F♯ (2), A♯ (3), C♯ (4), E♯ (5)
How to play D♯m9 on piano: the keys to press, which fingers to use, inversions and how it’s written on the staff.
Silky minor sound heard all over neo-soul and jazz.
- Notes
- D♯F♯A♯C♯E♯
- Formula
- 1♭35♭79
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · perfect 5th · minor 7th · major 9th
Piano
Root position · numbers are finger numbers
How to play it
Right handD♯1 · thumbF♯2 · indexA♯3 · middleC♯4 · ringE♯5 · pinky
Left handD♯5 · pinkythe root, an octave lower
Finger numbers: 1 thumb · 2 index · 3 middle · 4 ring · 5 pinky. Inversions use the same notes with a different one on the bottom — they help you move smoothly between chords. Tap any key to hear it.
Tips for playing D♯m9 on piano
On piano, D♯m9 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.
Notice the E♯ in D♯m9 (D♯ F♯ A♯ C♯ E♯): each note of the chord takes its own letter (D–F–A–C–E), so the major 9th has to be written E♯ rather than F — the same key on a piano, spelled to fit the chord.
