9th - 11th - 13th Chords
If you are looking to add some unusual flavors to your chord playing 9th-11th-13th Chords are something that will help you achieve that. These chords are formed by simply adding the 9th-11th & 13th degree (Octave of 2nd, 4th & 6th degree) of a Major Scale to a Major, Minor, & all three 7th Chord(Viz - Major 7th, Minor 7th & DOminant 7th.)
For eg; C Major 9 Chord is formed by adding the D note to the CMaj7 Chord. Effectively the notes in CMaj9 would be
C-E-G-B-D which is the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th & 9th Note of a C Major Scale. (C-D-E-F-G-A-B).
When you add the D note to the Cm chord you get a Cm9 Chord!
Adding the 11th & 13th Note to the basic Chords will give you similar results.
However, when you do play these superimposed chords, you will notice that it gets incredibly difficult to fret six to seven different notes together in one chord shape. To make things playable in a practical situation you can choose to NOT play certain notes/degrees in the 9th-111th-13th chords.
The best way to do this is to leave out notes that dont dont alter the inherent sound & character of the chord.
For eg - In a Maj9 chord the most important notes that give it its character are the the 1st, 3rd, 7th & 9th note. By omitting the 5th degree you are not really altering the chord technically. However if you would omit the 3rd degree, you would be leaving out an important note/degree that defines whether the chord is a Major or Minor. Same is the case with the 7th degree. By not playing it in a Major 9, the chord would remain undefined, whether its a Dominant 9th or Major 9th. (Please refer to the formula below for any clarification).
By leaving out the notes that dont define the character or technically alter the name of the chord, allows you to have a 4 note voicing for various comping patterns.
9th Chord Formulas
Major 9 - 1-3-5-7-9
Minor 9 - 1-3b-5-b7-9
Dominant 9 - 1-3-5-7b-9
Add 9 - 1-3-5-9
(Notes that can be omitted - 5th)
11th Chord Formulas
Major 11 - 1-3-5-7-9-11
Minor 11 - 1-3b-5-b7-9-11
Dominant 11 - 1-3-5-7b-9-11
(Notes that can be omitted - 5th & 9th)
13th Chord Formulas
Major 13 - 1-3-5-7-9-11-13
Minor 13 - 1-3b-5-b7-9-11-13
Dominant 13 - 1-3-5-7b-9-11-13(Notes that can be omitted - 5th & 9th & 11th)
Below are shapes for the above mentioned Chords. Multiple shapes of the same Root note have been laid out. Shapes where there are no open notes can be moved chromatically up & down the fretboard. This will help you to learn chords with different Root notes.
For eg; C Major 9 Chord is formed by adding the D note to the CMaj7 Chord. Effectively the notes in CMaj9 would be
C-E-G-B-D which is the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th & 9th Note of a C Major Scale. (C-D-E-F-G-A-B).
When you add the D note to the Cm chord you get a Cm9 Chord!
Adding the 11th & 13th Note to the basic Chords will give you similar results.
However, when you do play these superimposed chords, you will notice that it gets incredibly difficult to fret six to seven different notes together in one chord shape. To make things playable in a practical situation you can choose to NOT play certain notes/degrees in the 9th-111th-13th chords.
The best way to do this is to leave out notes that dont dont alter the inherent sound & character of the chord.
For eg - In a Maj9 chord the most important notes that give it its character are the the 1st, 3rd, 7th & 9th note. By omitting the 5th degree you are not really altering the chord technically. However if you would omit the 3rd degree, you would be leaving out an important note/degree that defines whether the chord is a Major or Minor. Same is the case with the 7th degree. By not playing it in a Major 9, the chord would remain undefined, whether its a Dominant 9th or Major 9th. (Please refer to the formula below for any clarification).
By leaving out the notes that dont define the character or technically alter the name of the chord, allows you to have a 4 note voicing for various comping patterns.
9th Chord Formulas
Major 9 - 1-3-5-7-9
Minor 9 - 1-3b-5-b7-9
Dominant 9 - 1-3-5-7b-9
Add 9 - 1-3-5-9
(Notes that can be omitted - 5th)
11th Chord Formulas
Major 11 - 1-3-5-7-9-11
Minor 11 - 1-3b-5-b7-9-11
Dominant 11 - 1-3-5-7b-9-11
(Notes that can be omitted - 5th & 9th)
13th Chord Formulas
Major 13 - 1-3-5-7-9-11-13
Minor 13 - 1-3b-5-b7-9-11-13
Dominant 13 - 1-3-5-7b-9-11-13(Notes that can be omitted - 5th & 9th & 11th)
Below are shapes for the above mentioned Chords. Multiple shapes of the same Root note have been laid out. Shapes where there are no open notes can be moved chromatically up & down the fretboard. This will help you to learn chords with different Root notes.
