How many semitones is a major ninth?

A Major Ninth spans 14 semitones: C – D. Count the semitones of any interval with the interval calculator.

What is the difference between a ninth and a second?

The same two pitch classes, an octave further apart. Chord extensions are numbered beyond the octave, so the added note is called a ninth rather than a second.

What is a compound interval?

Any interval wider than an octave. A Major Ninth is an octave plus a major second, and it keeps the character of that simple interval in a more open, less congested form.

How do I play Major Ninth?

On guitar the handiest shape is Next string, B 1 · E 10, read as string and fret; the instrument panel draws it from any starting note with the other shapes. On the piano count 14 semitones up from any key, black keys included. Play the notes together for the harmonic form, one after the other for the melodic form.

What is the inversion of Major Ninth?

The inversion of Major Ninth is the Minor Seventh: put the lower note an octave higher and the distance that remains is the inversion. The two always add up to an octave, 14 semitones and 10 semitones, and swap their qualities between major and minor, or keep perfect as perfect.

Major Ninth Interval: How It Sounds, with Song Examples

Play it on your instrument

Loading the keyboard…

From

On the piano, from every note

From	Notes	Play it on your instrument
C	C – D
C#	C# – D#
D	D – E
Eb	Eb – F
E	E – F#
F	F – G
F#	F# – G#
G	G – A
Ab	Ab – Bb
A	A – B
Bb	Bb – C
B	B – C#

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Number and quality

An interval has two names. The number counts the letter names from the lower note to the upper one, and the quality counts the semitones inside that number. Major Ninth spans 9 letter names, which makes it a ninth, and 14 semitones, which makes it major.

DLetter
ELetter
FLetter
GLetter
ALetter
BLetter
CLetter
14 semitones

Read on: number and quality · inversion · compound intervals · consonance and dissonance

Every ninth

A ninth can take these qualities, one semitone apart; choose one to see the upper note move and hear the pair.

Where it lives

Major Ninth is in every chord whose formula includes 9M from the root, in every scale that includes it from the tonic, and between these pairs of notes in a major key.

Chords built with it

C6/9C · E · G · A · D
C9C · E · G · Bb · D
Cmaj9C · E · G · B · D
Cm9C · Eb · G · Bb · D
C11C · G · Bb · D · F
Cm11C · Eb · G · Bb · D · F
C13C · E · G · Bb · D · A
Cmaj13C · E · G · B · D · A
Cm13C · Eb · G · Bb · D · A
Cmadd9C · Eb · G · D
Cadd9C · E · G · D

Scales that contain it

C MajorC · D · E · F · G · A · B
C MinorC · D · Eb · F · G · Ab · Bb
C Harmonic MinorC · D · Eb · F · G · Ab · B
C Melodic MinorC · D · Eb · F · G · A · B
C DorianC · D · Eb · F · G · A · Bb
C LydianC · D · E · F# · G · A · B
C MixolydianC · D · E · F · G · A · Bb
C Major PentatonicC · D · E · G · A
C Major BluesC · D · Eb · E · G · A
C Whole ToneC · D · E · F# · G# · A#
C ChromaticC · Db · D · Eb · E · F · Gb · G · Ab · A · Bb · B
C Harmonic MajorC · D · E · F · G · Ab · B
C Lydian DominantC · D · E · F# · G · A · Bb

In C major

C–D
D–E
F–G
G–A
A–B

Related intervals

The intervals one step from Major Ninth: its inversion, the same sound spelled differently, its simple or compound form, and its nearest neighbours in size.

Minor Seventh7m · 10 semitones · C – Bb
Inversion: together they make an octave
Diminished Tenth10d · 14 semitones · C – Ebb
The same sound, spelled differently
Major Second2M · 2 semitones · C – D
The simple form, an octave narrower
Minor Ninth9m · 13 semitones · C – Db
One size away
Minor Tenth10m · 15 semitones · C – Eb
One size away

Open it in a tool

Understanding Major Ninth

Names and symbols

Major Ninth is written M9, 9M: the letter is the quality, the number the size. Chord formulas on this site write the number first, as tonal does.

A compound interval is a simple interval plus an octave, and the two names are used interchangeably in chord symbols: a 9th in a chord is the 2nd of the scale an octave up, an 11th the 4th, a 13th the 6th. The compound name says the note sits above the seventh.

How it sounds

A Major Ninth spans 14 semitones: C – D. It is an octave plus a major second, and compound intervals keep the quality of the simple interval inside them while losing much of its edge — the extra octave gives the two notes room to stop interfering with each other.

Open and airy. The whole-step rub of a major second all but disappears once the notes are an octave apart.

How it is used

Added to a dominant or major chord it gives the 9 and maj9 voicings their characteristic spread, and it is the first extension most arrangers reach for above the seventh.

Learn this properly

Chapter 5: Intervals

Common questions

How many semitones is a major ninth?: A Major Ninth spans 14 semitones: C – D. Count the semitones of any interval with the interval calculator.
What is the difference between a ninth and a second?: The same two pitch classes, an octave further apart. Chord extensions are numbered beyond the octave, so the added note is called a ninth rather than a second.
What is a compound interval?: Any interval wider than an octave. A Major Ninth is an octave plus a major second, and it keeps the character of that simple interval in a more open, less congested form.
How do I play Major Ninth?: On guitar the handiest shape is Next string, B 1 · E 10, read as string and fret; the instrument panel draws it from any starting note with the other shapes. On the piano count 14 semitones up from any key, black keys included. Play the notes together for the harmonic form, one after the other for the melodic form.
What is the inversion of Major Ninth?: The inversion of Major Ninth is the Minor Seventh: put the lower note an octave higher and the distance that remains is the inversion. The two always add up to an octave, 14 semitones and 10 semitones, and swap their qualities between major and minor, or keep perfect as perfect.