What notes are in C6/9?

C6/9 contains C · E · G · A · D. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.

Why is a 6/9 chord so stable?

It has no seventh and therefore no tritone. Both added notes are consonant, so the chord is coloured without being directional.

As a final chord in bossa nova, jazz ballads and West Coast writing, where it sounds finished without sounding plain.

What notes are in the C Sixth added ninth chord?

The C Sixth added ninth chord contains the notes C · E · G · A · D: the root C with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 6M, 9M stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally C, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the C Sixth added ninth chord?

Measured from C, the C Sixth added ninth chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 6M, 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.

C Sixth Added Ninth Chord (C6/9): Notes, Piano & Guitar

Play it on your instrument

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Voicings on the piano

Voicing	Notes	Play it on your instrument
Closed, root position	C3 · E3 · G3 · A3 · D4
Open (drop 2)	A2 · C3 · E3 · G3 · D4
Shell	C3 · E3 · A3
Rootless	E3 · G3 · A#3 · D4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

C Sixth added ninth (C6/9) contains the notes C · E · G · A · D, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords · extensions

Inversions

An inversion of C Sixth added ninth puts a chord tone other than C in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales C Sixth added ninth belongs to.

In which keys

C Sixth added ninth is diatonic to 6 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

C majorI6/9Tonic
A minorIII6/9Tonic
G majorIV6/9Subdominant
E minorVI6/9Subdominant
F majorV6/9Dominant
D minorVII6/9Subdominant

Extensions beyond the seventh count when every note sits in the key.

Scales that contain it

C Sixth added ninth fits inside these scales, each built on C.

C Major BluesC · D · Eb · E · G · A
C MajorC · D · E · F · G · A · B
C LydianC · D · E · F# · G · A · B
C MixolydianC · D · E · F · G · A · Bb
C Lydian DominantC · D · E · F# · G · A · Bb
C BebopC · D · E · F · G · A · Bb · B
C Bebop MinorC · D · Eb · E · F · G · A · Bb
C Bebop MajorC · D · E · F · G · G# · A · B

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with C Sixth added ninth: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

C6C · E · G · A
Cadd9C · E · G · D
CC · E · G
Csus2C · D · G
C5C · G

Richer

Cmaj13C · E · G · B · D · A
C13C · E · G · Bb · D · A
Cmaj7add13C · E · G · A · B · D
C69#11C · E · G · A · D · F#
Cmaj13#11C · E · G · B · D · F# · A
C13#11C · E · G · Bb · D · F# · A

Sixth added ninth on every root

C#6/9 Db6/9 D6/9 Eb6/9 E6/9 F6/9 F#6/9 Gb6/9 G6/9 G#6/9 Ab6/9 A6/9 Bb6/9 B6/9

Open it in a tool

Understanding the C Sixth added ninth chord

Names and symbols

C6/9 is the chord symbol for C Sixth added ninth; it is also written C6add9, C69, CM69.

6add9, 6/9 and 69 all mean the sixth chord with an added ninth; the slash in 6/9 is not a bass note.

How it is built

On C it is C · E · G · A · D, stacking 1P · 3M · 5P · 6M · 9M. Two added colour tones, no seventh, so nothing in the chord pulls anywhere.

How it is used

It is the most restful rich chord there is: complex enough to sound deliberate, stable enough to end on. Bossa nova and West Coast jazz close on it constantly, and guitarists reach for it as the final chord of a ballad.

Learn this properly

Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and Sevenths

Common questions

What notes are in C6/9?: C6/9 contains C · E · G · A · D. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
Why is a 6/9 chord so stable?: It has no seventh and therefore no tritone. Both added notes are consonant, so the chord is coloured without being directional.
Where is 6/9 used?: As a final chord in bossa nova, jazz ballads and West Coast writing, where it sounds finished without sounding plain.
What notes are in the C Sixth added ninth chord?: The C Sixth added ninth chord contains the notes C · E · G · A · D: the root C with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 6M, 9M stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally C, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the C Sixth added ninth chord?: Measured from C, the C Sixth added ninth chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 6M, 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.