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In
music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
, a ninth is a
compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...
interval consisting of an
octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
plus a
second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in
common practice In European art music, the common-practice period is the era of the tonal system. Most of its features persisted from the mid-Baroque period through the Classical and Romantic periods, roughly from 1650 to 1900. There was much stylistic evoluti ...
tonality Tonality is the arrangement of pitches and/or chords of a musical work in a hierarchy of perceived relations, stabilities, attractions and directionality. In this hierarchy, the single pitch or triadic chord with the greatest stability is ca ...
. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its sonority level is considered less dense.


Major ninth

A major ninth is a compound musical interval spanning 14
semitone A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...
s, or an octave plus 2 semitones. If transposed into a single octave, it becomes a major second or minor seventh. The major ninth is somewhat dissonant in sound.


Transposition

Some common
transposing instrument A transposing instrument is a musical instrument for which music notation is not written at concert pitch (concert pitch is the pitch on a non-transposing instrument such as the piano). For example, playing a written middle C on a transposing ...
s sound a major ninth lower than written. These include the
tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...
, the bass clarinet, the
baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
/
euphonium The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...
when written in
treble clef A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines, which defines the pit ...
, and the
trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...
when written in treble clef ( British brass band music). When baritone/euphonium or trombone parts are written in bass clef or
tenor clef A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines, which defines the pit ...
they sound as written.


Minor ninth

A minor ninth (m9 or -9) is a compound musical interval spanning 13 semitones, or 1 semitone above an octave (thus it is
enharmonic In modern musical notation and tuning, an enharmonic equivalent is a note, interval, or key signature that is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature but "spelled", or named differently. The enharmonic spelling of a written n ...
ally equivalent to an augmented octave). If transposed into a single octave, it becomes a minor second or major seventh. The minor ninth is rather dissonant in sound, and in European classical music, often appears as a
suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspende ...
. Béla Bartók wrote a study in minor 9ths for piano. The fourt
movement
(an
intermezzo In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...
) of Robert Schumann's ''
Faschingsschwank aus Wien ''Faschingsschwank aus Wien'' (''Carnival Scenes from Vienna'' or ''Carnival Jest from Vienna''), Op. 26, is a solo piano work by Robert Schumann. He began composition of the work in 1839 in Vienna. He wrote the first four movements in Vienna, ...
'', is a constructed to feature prominent notes of the melody a minor ninth above the accompaniment: Alexander Scriabin's Piano Sonata No. 9, 'Black Mass' is based around the interval of a minor ninth, creating an uncomfortable and harsh sound. Several of
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
's works open with a striking gesture that includes the interval of a minor 9th, either as a chord: ''
Les Noces ''Les Noces'' (French for The Wedding; russian: Свадебка, ''Svadebka'') is a ballet and orchestral concert work composed by Igor Stravinsky for percussion, pianists, chorus, and vocal soloists. The composer gave it the descriptive title " ...
'
(1923)
and '' Threni'
(1958)
or as an upward melodic leap: ''
Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra The Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra was written by Igor Stravinsky in Nice between 1926 and 1929. The score was revised in 1949. Stravinsky designed the Capriccio to be a virtuoso, virtuosic vehicle which would allow him to earn a living from pl ...
'
(1929)
'' Symphony in Three Movements'
(1946)
and ''
Movements for Piano and Orchestra ''Movements'' is a sequence of five pieces for piano and orchestra by Igor Stravinsky lasting under ten minutes altogether. It was written during his Serial period and shows his dedication to that idiom as well as the influence of Anton Webern. ...
'
(1960)


Augmented ninth

An augmented ninth is a compound musical interval spanning 15 semitones, or 3 semitones above an octave. Enharmonically equivalent to a compound minor third, if transposed into a single octave, it becomes a minor third or major sixth. See:
Dominant seventh sharp ninth chord In music, the dominant 79 chord ("dominant seven sharp nine" or "dominant seven sharp ninth") is a chord built by combining a dominant seventh, which includes a major third above the root, with an augmented second, which is the enharmonic, same ...
.


Ninth chords

Three types of ninth chords may be distinguished: dominant (9), major (M9), and minor (m9).Bruce Buckingham, Eric Paschal (2001). ''Rhythm Guitar: The Complete Guide'', p.58. . They may easily be remembered as the chord quality of the seventh does not change with the addition of the second scale degree, which is a major second in both
major and minor In Western music, the adjectives major and minor may describe a chord, scale, or key. As such, composition, movement, section, or phrase may be referred to by its key, including whether that key is major or minor. Intervals Some intervals ...
, thus: 0 4 7 t + 2 =
dominant seventh In music theory, a dominant seventh chord, or major minor seventh chord, is a seventh chord, usually built on the fifth degree of the major scale, and composed of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh. Thus it is a major triad t ...
+ ninth = dominant ninth chord 0 4 7 e + 2 =
major seventh In music from Western culture, a seventh is a musical interval encompassing seven staff positions (see Interval number for more details), and the major seventh is one of two commonly occurring sevenths. It is qualified as ''major'' because it i ...
+ ninth = major ninth chord 0 3 7 t + 2 =
minor seventh In music theory, a minor seventh is one of two musical intervals that span seven staff positions. It is ''minor'' because it is the smaller of the two sevenths, spanning ten semitones. The major seventh spans eleven. For example, the interval fr ...
+ ninth = minor ninth chord The dominant ninth (V9) is a dominant seventh plus a major or minor ninth.Helen S. Leavitt (1916). ''Practical Lesson Plans in Harmony'', p.32. Ginn and Company. "In major keys the dominant ninth is usually major, though occasionally it is chromatically altered to a minor. In minor keys a similar chromatic change from minor to major takes places."


See also

*
Augmented octave In Western tonal music theory, an augmented octave is the sum of a perfect octave and an augmented unison or chromatic semitone. It is the interval between two notes, with the same note letter on staff positions an octave apart, whose altera ...
*
Augmented unison In modern Western tonal music theory an augmented unison or augmented prime is the interval between two notes on the same staff position, or denoted by the same note letter, whose alterations cause them, in ordinary equal temperament, to be o ...


References

{{Intervals Chord factors Seconds (music) Compound intervals