What notes are in the E 9b5 chord?

The E 9b5 chord contains the notes E · G# · Bb · D · F#: the root E with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5d, 7m, 9M stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally E, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the E 9b5 chord?

Measured from E, the E 9b5 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5d, 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 E 9b5 chord?

On guitar the most common E 9b5 shape is 010132, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play E3 · G#3 · Bb3 · D4 · F#4 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.

E 9b5 Chord (E9b5): 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	E3 · G#3 · Bb3 · D4 · F#4
Open (drop 2)	D3 · E3 · G#3 · Bb3 · F#4
Shell	E3 · G#3 · D4
Rootless	G#3 · D4 · F#4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

E 9b5 (E9b5) contains the notes E · G# · Bb · D · F#, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

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

Inversions

An inversion of E 9b5 puts a chord tone other than E in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales E 9b5 belongs to.

In which keys

E 9b5 is not diatonic to any major or minor key: at least one of its notes lies outside every one of them.

Scales that contain it

E 9b5 fits inside these scales, each built on E.

E Lydian DominantE · F# · G# · A# · B · C# · D
E PrometheusE · F# · G# · A# · C# · D
E Locrian MajorE · F# · G# · A · Bb · C · D
E Leading Whole ToneE · F# · G# · A# · B# · D · D#
E Lydian MinorE · F# · G# · A# · B · C · D
E Composite BluesE · F# · G · G# · A · Bb · B · C# · D
E Messiaen's Mode #3E · F# · G · G# · A# · B · C · D · D#

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with E 9b5: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

E7b5E · G# · Bb · D
E9no5E · G# · D · F#
E7no5E · G# · D
Emajb5E · G# · Bb

Richer

E13b5E · G# · Bb · C# · D · F#
E9#5#11E · G# · B# · D · F# · A#
E9#11E · G# · B · D · F# · A#
E13#11E · G# · B · D · F# · A# · C#
E9#11b13E · G# · B · D · F# · A# · C

Common substitutions

Bb9b5Bb · D · Fb · Ab · C
Bb9b5 shares the third and seventh of E9b5 a tritone away, so it can replace it as a dominant.
Bm7B · D · F# · A
Bm7 is the ii chord that leads into E9b5 in a ii–V.

9b5 on every root

C9b5 C#9b5 D9b5 F9b5 F#9b5 G9b5 G#9b5 A9b5 Bb9b5 B9b5

Open it in a tool

Understanding the E 9b5 chord

Names and symbols

E9b5 is the chord symbol for E 9b5.

Common questions

What notes are in the E 9b5 chord?: The E 9b5 chord contains the notes E · G# · Bb · D · F#: the root E with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5d, 7m, 9M stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally E, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the E 9b5 chord?: Measured from E, the E 9b5 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5d, 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 E 9b5 chord?: On guitar the most common E 9b5 shape is 010132, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play E3 · G#3 · Bb3 · D4 · F#4 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.