E9 is a dominant 9th chord, and on the guitar it is played from the notes E, G#, B, D, F#. Its first guitar voicing is the open position: low E string open; A string at fret 2 (middle finger); D string open; G string at fret 1 (index finger); B string open; high e string at fret 2 (ring finger). This page is a complete reference for it: notes and intervals, fingerings, mistakes to avoid, the keys it belongs to and a short practice routine.
What notes are in the E9 chord?
The E9 chord is a dominant 9th chord, and its notes are fixed: E, G#, B, D, F#. Every voicing on every instrument uses these same notes, in some order and in some octave — change one of them and you are playing a different chord. The table below lists each note with its interval from the root E, so you can see the structure of E9 at a glance. On the guitar, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in E9.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| E | Root |
| G# | 3 |
| B | 5 |
| D | b7 |
| F# | 9 |
The root is E, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in E9 are 3, 5, b7, 9. Learn those intervals rather than memorising the shape alone, because the same interval pattern transposed to another root gives you the same quality of chord anywhere. On the guitar, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
E9 sounds warm and jazzy, the chord that makes a blues turnaround sound finished rather than plain. The colour is strongest when all the notes ring clearly. A muted chord tone, especially the 3rd or the 7th where the chord has one, flattens the character of E9 noticeably. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, B, D, F# in E9.
Comparing E9 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, 9th against dominant 7th: E9 is a dominant 7th chord with the 9th F# added. The 7th (D) still does the work; the 9th just adds colour. Practise the two chords back to back and listen to the one note that changes — that single note is the difference between the two chords. On the guitar, the open position of E9 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
How to play E9 on guitar
On the guitar, E9 has 3 voicings in the data below, and each one uses the same notes — E, G#, B, D, F# — in a different place on the neck. There are 3 voicings listed for E9 on the guitar; learn the first, then add the others as you need them. Finger numbers below use 1 for the index finger, 2 for the middle finger, 3 for the ring finger and 4 for the little finger, and x means the string is not played.
Another way to play E9 is the open position, in open position: low E string open; A string at fret 2 (middle finger); D string open; G string at fret 1 (index finger); B string open; high e string at fret 2 (ring finger). This voicing is comfortable because the fretted notes sit close together, from fret 1 to fret 2, so your hand stays relaxed and every note can ring. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in E9 — E, G#, B, D, F# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
For the barre chord, E9 sits in around fret 4: low E string open; A string at fret 5 (middle finger); D string at fret 4 (index finger); G string at fret 4 (index finger); B string open; high e string at fret 4 (index finger). It barres across strings 3 to 4 at fret 4 with the index finger. The barre is the hard part: the index finger must press every string from 3 to 4 evenly at fret 4, so roll it slightly onto its bony side and keep it close to the fret wire. If the barre buzzes, move it a fraction closer to the fret and press from the arm, not the thumb alone. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in E9 — E, G#, B, D, F# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
For the movable voicing, E9 sits in around fret 2: low E string open; A string at fret 2 (index finger); D string at fret 4 (ring finger); G string at fret 4 (ring finger); B string at fret 3 (middle finger); high e string at fret 4 (little finger). This voicing is comfortable because the fretted notes sit close together, from fret 2 to fret 4, so your hand stays relaxed and every note can ring. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in E9 — E, G#, B, D, F# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Choosing between the voicings of E9 is a musical decision, not a right-or-wrong one. The open or low-position voicing rings the most and suits strumming, while a barre or movable voicing lets you slide E9 up the neck to any key without changing the shape. When you change chords, pick the voicing of E9 that sits closest to the chord before it — shorter moves between shapes mean faster, cleaner changes. Practise the change into E9 from the chord that comes before it in your song, not the chord on its own, because the move is the skill. On the guitar, the open position of E9 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
A short practice routine for E9 on the guitar: play the first voicing four times slowly, checking each note, then change to it from the chord a fourth above E and back, four times, at a slow tempo. Then play the second voicing the same way. If a note buzzes, stop and fix the finger placement rather than playing through the buzz — clean notes at a slow tempo become clean notes at full tempo, while buzzes practised fast become habits. Use the Guitar Chord Finder to see the diagram for E9 while you practise, and the Chord Finder to compare it with the same chord on other instruments.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make E9 sound wrong on the guitar, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Barre collapsing on the high strings. In a barre voicing of E9, the high strings are the ones that buzz first, because the index finger presses hardest near the thumb. If the top notes of E9 sound dead, roll the barring finger slightly toward the fret and press from the arm, not from squeezing the neck. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, B, D, F# in E9.
Leaving out the 7th. Without D this is an add9 chord, not a dominant 9th, and it loses its pull. The 7th is essential; the 5th is the note you can drop. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, B, D, F# in E9.
Crowding the voicing. Five notes are a lot. Drop the 5th (B) first — it adds the least — and keep the root, 3rd, 7th and 9th. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, B, D, F# in E9.
Playing the 9th too low. F# low down clashes with the root. Keep the 9th in a higher octave than the root and 3rd. On the guitar, the open position of E9 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Where E9 is used
E9 is not a diatonic triad in any major or minor key, because it is an extended or altered chord, but its base triad belongs to the key of E major, the key of A major, the key of B major. a turnaround chord: V9 to I is one of the most satisfying resolutions in popular music. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward A major, the key a perfect fourth above E, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where E9 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, B, D, F# in E9.
Because E9 is an extended or altered chord, it appears in progressions as a colour or a dominant rather than as a diatonic staple. Try it in place of the plain E triad in a progression you already know, and listen to how the extra notes change the feel — that substitution is the usual way extended chords enter real music. The Chord Progression Builder lets you try E9 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the guitar, the open position of E9 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in E9 on piano, E9 on ukulele, E9 on bass, and the scales that fit over it are the E major scale and the E minor pentatonic scale. Learning E9 on the guitar and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — E, G#, B, D, F# — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising E9
A short worked example makes E9 concrete. Play the four-chord progression A – E – F#m – D in A major, the key E9 most often resolves toward: A – E – F#m – D. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how E9 sounds in that sequence — whether it feels like home, like a lift, or like a chord on its way somewhere else. Then play the same four chords in a different order, starting on E9 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the guitar, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in E9.
For a second exercise, play E9 and then the chord a fourth above E, back and forth, four times each. That move — a chord and the chord a fourth above it — is the most common resolution in Western music, and it is the move E9 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing E9 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: E, G#, B, D, F#. Naming the notes while you play them is what turns a shape into knowledge you can use in any key. Test yourself with the Practice Chord Quiz and keep time with the Metronome as the tempo rises. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, B, D, F# in E9.
Frequently asked questions
What notes are in E9?
E9 contains E, G#, B, D, F#: the root E, major 3rd G#, perfect 5th B, flattened 7th D and the 9th F#. The 9th is the same pitch as the 2nd, an octave higher. On the guitar, check the first voicing above for that note.
What is the difference between E9 and Eadd9?
E9 includes the flattened 7th D; Eadd9 does not. That 7th makes E9 a dominant chord that wants to resolve, while the add9 is a settled tonic colour. On the guitar, check the first voicing above for that note.
Which note can I drop from E9?
The 5th, B. The root, 3rd (G#), 7th (D) and 9th (F#) define the chord; the 5th adds the least and is the first note to go in a tight voicing. On the guitar, check the first voicing above for that note.
How do you play E9 on the guitar?
The first voicing is the open position: frets 0–2–0–1–0–2, fingers 0–2–0–1–0–3, on the guitar. That voicing uses the notes E, G#, B, D, F#, and it is the one to learn first. The page above lists more voicings for E9, so you can choose the shape nearest the chords around it.
Is E9 hard to play on the guitar?
It depends on the voicing. The first voicing of E9 on the guitar is the easiest starting point, and the movable voicings further up the neck are harder because they need a barre or a wider stretch. Practise the first voicing cleanly at a slow tempo before you try the others, and the harder shapes will come more easily.