What notes are in the Db Minor/major ninth chord?

The Db Minor/major ninth chord contains the notes Db · Fb · Ab · C · Eb: the root Db with the intervals 1P, 3m, 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 Minor/major ninth chord?

Measured from Db, the Db Minor/major ninth chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3m, 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 Minor/major ninth chord?

On guitar the most common Db Minor/major ninth shape is x41110, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Db3 · Fb3 · 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 Minor/Major Ninth Chord (DbmMaj9): 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	Db3 · Fb3 · Ab3 · C4 · Eb4
Open (drop 2)	C3 · Db3 · Fb3 · Ab3 · Eb4
Shell	Db3 · Fb3 · C4
Rootless	Fb3 · C4 · Eb4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

Db Minor/major ninth (DbmMaj9) contains the notes Db · Fb · 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 Minor/major ninth 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 Minor/major ninth belongs to.

In which keys

Db Minor/major ninth is diatonic to 1 key; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

C# minoriMaj9Tonic

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

Scales that contain it

Db Minor/major ninth fits inside these scales, each built on Db.

Db Melodic MinorDb · Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab · Bb · C
Db Minor HexatonicDb · Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab · C
Db Lydian DiminishedDb · Eb · Fb · G · Ab · Bb · C

Related chords

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

Simpler

DbmMaj7Db · Fb · Ab · C
Dbmadd9Db · Fb · Ab · Eb
DbmDb · Fb · Ab
Dbsus2Db · Eb · Ab
Db5Db · Ab

Minor/major ninth on every root

CmMaj9 C#mMaj9 DmMaj9 EbmMaj9 EmMaj9 FmMaj9 F#mMaj9 GmMaj9 AbmMaj9 AmMaj9 BbmMaj9 BmMaj9

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Understanding the Db Minor/major ninth chord

Names and symbols

DbmMaj9 is the chord symbol for Db Minor/major ninth; it is also written DbmM9, Db-^9.

mMaj7, m/maj7, mΔ7, −Δ7 and mM7 all mean the minor-major seventh: a minor triad with a major seventh. Every spelling tries to say both qualities at once.

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

Common questions

What notes are in the Db Minor/major ninth chord?: The Db Minor/major ninth chord contains the notes Db · Fb · Ab · C · Eb: the root Db with the intervals 1P, 3m, 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 Minor/major ninth chord?: Measured from Db, the Db Minor/major ninth chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3m, 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 Minor/major ninth chord?: On guitar the most common Db Minor/major ninth shape is x41110, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Db3 · Fb3 · 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.