In
music theory, a ninth chord is a
chord that encompasses the
interval of a
ninth when arranged in
close position with the
root
In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...
in the
bass.
Heinrich Schenker
Heinrich Schenker (19 June 1868 – 14 January 1935) was a Galician-born Austrian music theorist whose writings have had a profound influence on subsequent musical analysis. His approach, now termed Schenkerian analysis, was most fully ex ...
and also
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov allowed the substitution of the dominant seventh,
leading-tone
In music theory, a leading-tone (also called a subsemitone, and a leading-note in the UK) is a note or pitch which resolves or "leads" to a note one semitone higher or lower, being a lower and upper leading-tone, respectively. Typically, ''t ...
, and leading tone
half-diminished seventh chord
In music theory, the half-diminished seventh chord (also known as a half-diminished chord or a minor seventh flat five chord) is a seventh chord composed of a root note, together with a minor third, a diminished fifth, and a minor seventh (1,  ...
s, rejected the concept of a ninth chord on the basis that only that on the fifth
scale degree (V
9) was admitted and that
inversion was not allowed of the ninth chord.
Dominant ninth
There is a difference between a major ninth chord and a dominant ninth chord. A dominant ninth is the combination of a
dominant chord
In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree () of the diatonic scale. It is called the ''dominant'' because it is second in importance to the first scale degree, the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the dominant note is sung as "So ...
(with a minor seventh) and a major ninth. A major ninth chord (e.g., Cmaj
9), as an
extended chord, adds the major
seventh
Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven.
Seventh may refer to:
* Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
* A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts
Film and television
*"The Seventh", a second-season e ...
along with the ninth to the major triad. Thus, a Cmaj
9 consists of C, E, G, B and D. When the symbol "9" is not preceded by the word "major" or "maj" (e.g., C
9), the chord is a dominant ninth. That is, the implied seventh chord is a
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 ...
, i.e. a major triad plus the minor seventh, to which the ninth is added: e.g., a C
9 consists of C, E, G, B and D. C dominant ninth (C
9) would usually be expected to resolve to an F major chord (the implied key, C being the dominant of F). The ninth is commonly
chromatically altered by
half-step
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest interval (music), musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most Consonance and dissonance#Dissonance, dissonant when sounded harmonically ...
either up or down to create more tension and
dissonance.
Fétis tuned the chord 4:5:6:7:9.
[ Fétis, François-Joseph and Arlin, Mary I. (1994). ''Esquisse de l'histoire de l'harmonie'', p. 139n9. .]
In the
common practice period
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 ...
, "the root,
3rd, 7th, and 9th are the most common factors present in the V
9 chord," with the
5th
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.
Fifth or The Fifth may refer to:
* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth"
* Fifth column, a political term
* Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...
, "typically omitted".
The ninth and seventh usually resolve downward to the fifth and third of I.
Example of tonic dominant ninth chords include
Bobbie Gentry
Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is a retired American singer-songwriter, who was one of the first female artists in America to compose and produce her own material.
Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 with her Sou ...
's "
Ode to Billie Joe
"Ode to Billie Joe" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry released by Capitol Records in July 1967, and later used as the title-track of her debut album. Five weeks after its release, the song topped '' Billboard's'' Pop sin ...
" and
Wild Cherry's "
Play That Funky Music
"Play That Funky Music" is a song written by Rob Parissi and recorded by the band Wild Cherry. The single was the first released by the Cleveland-based Sweet City record label in April 1976 and distributed by Epic Records. The performers on the ...
".
James Brown's "
I Got You (I Feel Good)
"I Got You (I Feel Good)" is a song by American singer James Brown. First recorded for the album ''Out of Sight'' and then released in an alternate take as a single in 1965, it was his highest-charting song and is arguably his best-known record ...
" features a striking dominant 9th
arpeggio played
staccato at the end of the opening 12-bar sequence. The opening phrase of
Chopin's well-known "
Minute Waltz" climaxes on a dominant 9th chord:
César Franck
César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium.
He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was pa ...
's Violin Sonata in A Major opens with a dominant ninth chord (E
9) in the piano part. When the violin enters in the fifth bar, its melody articulates an arpeggio of this chord.
Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
's "Hommage a Rameau", the second of his first Book of ''Images'' for piano solo climaxes powerfully on a dominant 9th, expressed both as a chord and as a wide-ranging arpeggio:
The starting point of
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th and early 21st-century ...
's piece for vocal sextet, ''
Stimmung
''Stimmung'', for six vocalists and six microphones, is a piece by Karlheinz Stockhausen, written in 1968 and commissioned by the City of Cologne for the Collegium Vocale Köln. Its average length is seventy-four minutes, and it bears the work nu ...
'' (1968) is a chord consisting of the notes B, F, B, D, A and C. According to
Nicholas Cook, ''Stimmung'' could, in terms of conventional tonal harmony, be viewed as "simply a dominant ninth chord that is subject to timbral variation. The notes the performers sing are harmonics 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9 of the implied but absent fundamental—the B flat below the bass clef."
Dominant minor ninth
:
2
:(Dominant minor ninth chord on C)
A dominant minor ninth chord consists of a dominant seventh chord and a minor ninth. In C: C E G B D. Fétis tuned the chord 8:10:12:14:17.
In notation for jazz and popular music, this chord is often denoted, e.g., C
79. In Schubert's ''
Erlkönig'', a terrified child calls out to his father when he sees an apparition of the sinister Elf King. The dissonant voicing of the dominant minor ninth chord used here (C
79) is particularly effective in heightening the drama and sense of threat.
:
<<
\new ChordNames \chordmode
\new Lyrics
\new GrandStaff <<
\new Staff
\new Staff
>> >>
:(Excerpt from Schubert's ''
Erlkönig'' â€
Link to passage
Writing about this passage,
Taruskin (2010, p. 149) remarks on the
<<
\new ChordNames
\new Staff
>>
:(Excerpt from Mariah Carey â€
All I want for Chrismas is You
Minor ninth
:
2
:(C minor ninth chord)
The minor ninth chord consists of a minor seventh chord and a major ninth. The formula is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9. This chord is written as Cm
9. This chord has a more "bluesy" sound and fits very well with the dominant ninth.
Major ninth
2
Notable examples
* "
Wedding Day at Troldhaugen" (
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...
)
* "In una stanza con poca luce" (
Ennio Morricone: ''
Once Upon a Time in the West
''Once Upon a Time in the West'' ( , "Once upon a time (there was) the West") is a 1968 epic Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone, who co-wrote it with Sergio Donati based on a story by Dario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Leone ...
'' soundtrack no. 18)
The major ninth chord consists of a major seventh chord and a major ninth. The formula is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9. This chord is written as Cmaj9.
Relation to other chords with the ninth
![Minor 6-9 chord on C](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Minor_6-9_chord_on_C.png)
The 6/9 chord is a
pentad with a major triad joined by a sixth and ninth above the root, but no seventh. For example, C
6/9 is C–E–G–A–D. It is not a tense chord requiring
resolution, and is considered a
substitute for the tonic in
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
. The minor 6/9 chord is a minor triad with an added 6th and 9th, evoking the
Dorian mode
Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different but interrelated subjects: one of the Ancient Greek ''harmoniai'' (characteristic melodic behaviour, or the scale structure associated with it); one of the medieval musical modes; or—mo ...
, and is also suitable as a minor tonic in jazz.
Jazz Lessons
/ref>
The second degree is octave equivalent to the ninth. The ninth chord could be alternatively notated as seventh added second chord (C7add2), from where omitting the 3rd produces the seventh suspended second chord (C7sus2).
An added ninth chord is a major triad with an added ninth – Cadd9 consists of C, E, G and D. Added ninth chords differ from other ninth chords because the seventh isn't included.
See also
*Jazz chord
Jazz chords are chords, chord voicings and chord symbols that jazz musicians commonly use in composition, improvisation, and harmony. In jazz chords and theory, most triads that appear in lead sheets or fake books can have sevenths added to the ...
*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 ...
References
{{Chords
Chord factors