What notes are in the E Add flat nine chord?

The E Add flat nine chord contains the notes E · G# · B · F: the root E 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 E, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the E Add flat nine chord?

Measured from E, the E Add flat 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.

How do I play the E Add flat nine chord?

On guitar the most common E Add flat nine shape is 023100, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play E3 · G#3 · B3 · F4 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 Add Flat Nine Chord (Emajaddb9): 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 · B3 · F4
Open (drop 2)	B2 · E3 · G#3 · F4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

E Add flat nine (Emajaddb9) contains the notes E · G# · B · F, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built · extensions

Inversions

An inversion of E Add flat nine 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 Add flat nine belongs to.

In which keys

E Add flat nine is diatonic to 1 key; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

A minorVmajaddb9Dominant

Scales that contain it

E Add flat nine fits inside these scales, each built on E.

E Phrygian DominantE · F · G# · A · B · C · D
E Half-Whole DiminishedE · F · G · G# · A# · B · C# · D
E ScriabinE · F · G# · B · C#
E Double Harmonic LydianE · F · G# · A# · B · C · D#
E Double Harmonic MajorE · F · G# · A · B · C · D#
E FlamencoE · F · G · G# · A# · B · D
E Purvi RagaE · F · G# · A · A# · B · C · D#
E Spanish HeptatonicE · F · G · G# · A · B · C · D

Related chords

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

Simpler

EE · G# · B
E5E · B

Richer

E7b9E · G# · B · D · F
Emaj7b9E · G# · B · D# · F
E13b9E · G# · B · D · F · C#
E7b9b13E · G# · B · D · F · C
E7b9#11E · G# · B · D · F · A#
E13b9#11E · G# · B · D · F · A# · C#

Add flat nine on every root

Cmajaddb9 C#majaddb9 Dmajaddb9 Ebmajaddb9 Fmajaddb9 F#majaddb9 Gmajaddb9 G#majaddb9 Amajaddb9 Bbmajaddb9 Bmajaddb9

Open it in a tool

Understanding the E Add flat nine chord

Names and symbols

Emajaddb9 is the chord symbol for E Add flat nine; it is also written EMaddb9.

Common questions

What notes are in the E Add flat nine chord?: The E Add flat nine chord contains the notes E · G# · B · F: the root E 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 E, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the E Add flat nine chord?: Measured from E, the E Add flat 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.
How do I play the E Add flat nine chord?: On guitar the most common E Add flat nine shape is 023100, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play E3 · G#3 · B3 · F4 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.