What notes are in the Db Major ninth suspended fourth chord?

The Db Major ninth suspended fourth chord contains the notes Db · Gb · Ab · C · Eb: the root Db with the intervals 1P, 4P, 5P, 7M, 9M stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Db, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the Db Major ninth suspended fourth chord?

Measured from Db, the Db Major ninth suspended fourth chord stacks the intervals 1P, 4P, 5P, 7M, 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.

How do I play the Db Major ninth suspended fourth chord?

On guitar the most common Db Major ninth suspended fourth shape is x41112, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Db3 · Gb3 · Ab3 · C4 · Eb4 with the right hand, or move the root down into the left hand and keep the rest above it. Every shape on this page plays when you press it.

Db Major Ninth Suspended Fourth Chord (Dbmaj9sus4)

Play it on your instrument

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Voicings on the piano

Voicing	Notes	Play it on your instrument
Closed, root position	Db3 · Gb3 · Ab3 · C4 · Eb4
Open (drop 2)	C3 · Db3 · Gb3 · Ab3 · Eb4
Shell	Db3 · Gb3 · C4
Rootless	Gb3 · C4 · Eb4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

Db Major ninth suspended fourth (Dbmaj9sus4) contains the notes Db · Gb · Ab · C · Eb, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

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

Inversions

An inversion of Db Major ninth suspended fourth puts a chord tone other than Db in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales Db Major ninth suspended fourth belongs to.

In which keys

Db Major ninth suspended fourth is diatonic to 3 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

C# minorImaj9sus4Tonic
Db majorImaj9sus4Tonic
Bb minorIIImaj9sus4Tonic

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

Scales that contain it

Db Major ninth suspended fourth fits inside these scales, each built on Db.

Db MajorDb · Eb · F · Gb · Ab · Bb · C
Db Melodic MinorDb · Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab · Bb · C
Db Minor HexatonicDb · Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab · C
Db BebopDb · Eb · F · Gb · Ab · Bb · Cb · C
Db Bebop MajorDb · Eb · F · Gb · Ab · A · Bb · C

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with Db Major ninth suspended fourth: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

Dbmaj7sus4Db · Gb · Ab · C
Dbsus24Db · Eb · Gb · Ab
Dbsus4Db · Gb · Ab
Dbsus2Db · Eb · Ab
Db5Db · Ab

Major ninth suspended fourth on every root

Cmaj9sus4 C#maj9sus4 Dmaj9sus4 Ebmaj9sus4 Emaj9sus4 Fmaj9sus4 F#maj9sus4 Gbmaj9sus4 Gmaj9sus4 Abmaj9sus4 Amaj9sus4 Bbmaj9sus4 Bmaj9sus4

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Understanding the Db Major ninth suspended fourth chord

Names and symbols

Dbmaj9sus4 is the chord symbol for Db Major ninth suspended fourth; it is also written DbM9sus4.

sus on its own means sus4, and 7sus means 7sus4. sus2 is sometimes written add9(no3), which names the same notes from another angle.

Db Major ninth suspended fourth and C# Major ninth suspended fourth are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. C# Major ninth suspended fourth

Common questions

What notes are in the Db Major ninth suspended fourth chord?: The Db Major ninth suspended fourth chord contains the notes Db · Gb · Ab · C · Eb: the root Db with the intervals 1P, 4P, 5P, 7M, 9M stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Db, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the Db Major ninth suspended fourth chord?: Measured from Db, the Db Major ninth suspended fourth chord stacks the intervals 1P, 4P, 5P, 7M, 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.
How do I play the Db Major ninth suspended fourth chord?: On guitar the most common Db Major ninth suspended fourth shape is x41112, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Db3 · Gb3 · Ab3 · C4 · Eb4 with the right hand, or move the root down into the left hand and keep the rest above it. Every shape on this page plays when you press it.