What notes are in the F# 9b5 chord?

The F# 9b5 chord contains the notes F# · A# · C · E · G#: the root F# 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 F#, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the F# 9b5 chord?

Measured from F#, the F# 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 F# 9b5 chord?

On guitar the most common F# 9b5 shape is 212112, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play F#3 · A#3 · C4 · E4 · G#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.

F# 9b5 Chord (F#9b5): 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	F#3 · A#3 · C4 · E4 · G#4
Open (drop 2)	E3 · F#3 · A#3 · C4 · G#4
Shell	F#3 · A#3 · E4
Rootless	A#3 · E4 · G#4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

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

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

Inversions

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

Where it lives

The keys and the scales F# 9b5 belongs to.

In which keys

F# 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

F# 9b5 fits inside these scales, each built on F#.

F# Lydian DominantF# · G# · A# · B# · C# · D# · E
F# PrometheusF# · G# · A# · B# · D# · E
F# Locrian MajorF# · G# · A# · B · C · D · E
F# Lydian MinorF# · G# · A# · B# · C# · D · E
F# Composite BluesF# · G# · A · A# · B · C · C# · D# · E
F# Messiaen's Mode #3F# · G# · A · A# · B# · C# · D · E · E#

Related chords

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

Simpler

F#7b5F# · A# · C · E
F#9no5F# · A# · E · G#
F#7no5F# · A# · E
F#majb5F# · A# · C

Richer

F#13b5F# · A# · C · D# · E · G#
F#9#11F# · A# · C# · E · G# · B#
F#13#11F# · A# · C# · E · G# · B# · D#
F#9#11b13F# · A# · C# · E · G# · B# · D

Common substitutions

C9b5C · E · Gb · Bb · D
C9b5 shares the third and seventh of F#9b5 a tritone away, so it can replace it as a dominant.
C#m7C# · E · G# · B
C#m7 is the ii chord that leads into F#9b5 in a ii–V.

9b5 on every root

C9b5 C#9b5 D9b5 E9b5 F9b5 G9b5 G#9b5 A9b5 Bb9b5 B9b5

Open it in a tool

Understanding the F# 9b5 chord

Names and symbols

F#9b5 is the chord symbol for F# 9b5.

Common questions

What notes are in the F# 9b5 chord?: The F# 9b5 chord contains the notes F# · A# · C · E · G#: the root F# 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 F#, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the F# 9b5 chord?: Measured from F#, the F# 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 F# 9b5 chord?: On guitar the most common F# 9b5 shape is 212112, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play F#3 · A#3 · C4 · E4 · G#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.