Chords
A Minor add nine
A · C · E · B
A minor triad with an added ninth and no seventh — delicate rather than rich.
A Minor add nine
A · C · E · B
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | A3 · C4 · E4 · B4 | |
| Open (drop 2) | E3 · A3 · C4 · B4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
A Minor add nine (Amadd9) contains the notes A · C · E · B, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built · extensions
Inversions
An inversion of A Minor add nine puts a chord tone other than A in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales A Minor add nine belongs to.
In which keys
A Minor add nine is diatonic to 4 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
Scales that contain it
A Minor add nine fits inside these scales, each built on A.
- A Major BluesA · B · C · C# · E · F#
- A MinorA · B · C · D · E · F · G
- A Melodic MinorA · B · C · D · E · F# · G#
- A Harmonic MinorA · B · C · D · E · F · G#
- A DorianA · B · C · D · E · F# · G
- A HirajoshiA · B · C · E · F
- A Flat Three PentatonicA · B · C · E · F#
- A Minor HexatonicA · B · C · D · E · G#
Understanding the A Minor add nine chord
Names and symbols
Amadd9 is the chord symbol for A Minor add nine.
add9, 9 and maj9 are three different chords. add9 adds a ninth to a plain triad with no seventh; 9 is a dominant seventh with a ninth; maj9 is a major seventh with a ninth.
How it is built
On A it is A · C · E · B: 1P · 3m · 5P · 9M. The ninth is added to the triad directly, leaving the seventh out.
How it is used
Without the seventh the chord stays transparent, which suits fingerpicked guitar, ambient piano and film writing that wants colour without weight.
Learn this properly
Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and SeventhsCommon questions
- What notes are in Amadd9?
- Amadd9 contains A · C · E · B. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
- How is madd9 different from m9?
- m9 includes the minor seventh; madd9 does not. Leaving the seventh out keeps the chord light.
- Why "add9" and not "add2"?
- Convention. Extensions above the octave are numbered past it, so the added note is called a ninth even when it is voiced close to the root.
- What notes are in the A Minor add nine chord?
- The A Minor add nine chord contains the notes A · C · E · B: the root A with the intervals 1P, 3m, 5P, 9M stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally A, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the A Minor add nine chord?
- Measured from A, the A Minor add nine chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3m, 5P, 9M. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.