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

The E Minor/major ninth chord contains the notes E · G · B · D# · F#: the root E 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 E, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the E Minor/major ninth chord?

Measured from E, the E 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 E Minor/major ninth chord?

On guitar the most common E Minor/major ninth shape is 021002, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play E3 · G3 · B3 · D#4 · 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 Minor/Major Ninth Chord (EmMaj9): 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 · G3 · B3 · D#4 · F#4
Open (drop 2)	D#3 · E3 · G3 · B3 · F#4
Shell	E3 · G3 · D#4
Rootless	G3 · D#4 · F#4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

E Minor/major ninth (EmMaj9) contains the notes E · G · B · 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 Minor/major ninth 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 Minor/major ninth belongs to.

In which keys

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

E minoriMaj9Tonic

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

Scales that contain it

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

E Melodic MinorE · F# · G · A · B · C# · D#
E Harmonic MinorE · F# · G · A · B · C · D#
E Minor HexatonicE · F# · G · A · B · D#
E Lydian DiminishedE · F# · G · A# · B · C# · D#
E Hungarian MinorE · F# · G · A# · B · C · D#
E Minor BebopE · F# · G · A · B · C · D · D#
E Minor Six DiminishedE · F# · G · A · B · C · 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 Minor/major ninth: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

EmMaj7E · G · B · D#
Emadd9E · G · B · F#
EmE · G · B
Esus2E · F# · B
E5E · B

Richer

EmMaj9b6E · G · B · C · D# · F#

Minor/major ninth on every root

CmMaj9 C#mMaj9 DbmMaj9 DmMaj9 EbmMaj9 FmMaj9 F#mMaj9 GmMaj9 AbmMaj9 AmMaj9 BbmMaj9 BmMaj9

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Understanding the E Minor/major ninth chord

Names and symbols

EmMaj9 is the chord symbol for E Minor/major ninth; it is also written EmM9, E-^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.

Common questions

What notes are in the E Minor/major ninth chord?: The E Minor/major ninth chord contains the notes E · G · B · D# · F#: the root E 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 E, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the E Minor/major ninth chord?: Measured from E, the E 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 E Minor/major ninth chord?: On guitar the most common E Minor/major ninth shape is 021002, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play E3 · G3 · B3 · D#4 · 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.