The Eb9 (E flat 9) chord contains the notes Eb, G, Bb, Db and F. It is produced by taking the 1 (root), 3, 5, b7 and 9 of the Eb Major scale. The 9th note of the scale (F) is the same as the 2nd note, but we refer to it as a 9, as this implies that the chord is a dominant 7 chord (1, 3, 5, 7) with a 9 included.
The 9th chord is a very popular guitar chord in Jazz, Funk and Blues. It is in many ways, the go-to ‘funk’ chord. The 9th chord can often be substituted for a dominant 7 chord. Let’s take an example chord progression:
Try playing this chord progression. After a while, try substituting the Eb7 chord for a Eb9 chord. You should hear that the chord progression sounds very similar, but the inclusion of the Eb9 chord gives the chord progression a jazzy sound.
The most common way to play Eb9 is with the root note on the 6th fret of the 5th string (second shape in the pic below).
10 Ways To Play The Eb9 Chord
If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for Eb9, here they are.
Some Quick Eb9 Chord Theory
- The Eb9 chord contains the notes Eb, G, Bb, Db and F.
- The Eb9 chord is produced by taking the 1 (root), 3, 5, b7 and 9 of the Eb Major scale.
- The 9th note of the Eb Major scale (Db) is the same as the 2nd note of the scale.
- The Eb9 can be used as a substitute for the Eb7 chord.
- The Eb9 is essentially a Eb dominant 7 chord with an added 9.
- The Eb mixolydian mode can be used when soloing over the Eb9 chord.
Further Reading
