Ninth chord

thumb|[[Resolution (music)|Resolutions given as examples by Arnold Schoenberg in his Theory of Harmony: V⁹ chords resolving to I chords

|450x450px]]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 the bass.

Heinrich Schenker and also Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov allowed the substitution of the dominant seventh, leading-tone, and leading tone half-diminished seventh chords, but rejected the concept of a ninth chord on the basis that only that on the fifth scale degree (V⁹) was admitted and that inversion was not allowed of the ninth chord.

Dominant ninth chord

A dominant ninth chord is a dominant seventh chord plus a major ninth above the root. For instance, a C dominant ninth chord (C⁹) consists of the notes C–E–G–B–D.

: <score sound="">{

\override Score.TimeSignature

1. 'stencil = ##f

\relative c' {

\time 4/4

\set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 1 = 20

<c e g bes d>1

}

}</score>

When the symbol "9" is not preceded by the word "major" or "maj" (e.g., C⁹), the chord is a dominant ninth. The ninth is commonly chromatically altered by half-step either up or down to create more tension and dissonance. Fétis tuned the chord 4:5:6:7:9.

In the common practice period, "the root, 3rd, 7th, and 9th are the most common factors present in the V⁹ chord," with the 5th, "typically omitted". The ninth and seventh usually resolve downward to the fifth and third of I. 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 chord

A dominant minor ninth chord consists of a dominant seventh chord and a minor ninth above the root. For instance, a C dominant minor ninth chord (C⁷⁹) consists of the notes C–E–G–B–D.

: <score sound="">{

\override Score.TimeSignature

1. 'stencil = ##f

\relative c' {

\time 4/4

\set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 1 = 20

<c e g bes des>1

}

}</score>

In notation for jazz and popular music, this chord is often denoted, e.g., C⁷⁹.

Fétis tuned the chord 8:10:12:14:17.

:<score sound="1">

<<

\new ChordNames \chordmode {s2 s2 c1:7.9-}

{\new Voice ="mel" {\key aes \major \time 4/4

r2 r4 c des2 des4. des8 des c c4

\new Lyrics {\lyricsto "mel" {Mein Va -- ter, mein Va -- ter __

\new GrandStaff <<

\new Staff {\key aes \major \time 4/4

\tuplet 3/2 {r8 <c' c> <c' c>} \tuplet 3/2 {<c' c> \f <c' c> <c' c>} \tuplet 3/2 {<c' c> <c' c> <c' c>} \tuplet 3/2 {<c' c> <c' c> <c' c>} \tuplet 3/2 {<c' c> <c' c> <c' c>} \tuplet 3/2 {<c' c> <c' c> <c' c>} \tuplet 3/2 {<c' c> <c' c> <c' c>} \tuplet 3/2 {<c' c> <c' c> <c' c>} \tuplet 3/2 {<c' c> <c' c> <c' c>} \tuplet 3/2 {<c' c> <c' c> <c' c>

\new Staff {\clef bass \key aes \major \time 4/4

<aes,, aes,>4 r r <a, a>(<bes, bes>2) <g, g> <e, e>}

>> >>

</score>

:(Excerpt from Schubert's Erlkönig – Link to passage)

Writing about this passage, Taruskin (2010, p. 149) remarks on the

Minor ninth chord

The minor ninth chord consists of a minor seventh chord and a major ninth above the root. For instance, a C minor ninth chord (Cm⁹) consists of the notes C–E–G–B–D.

: <score sound="">{

\override Score.TimeSignature

1. 'stencil = ##f

\relative c' {

\time 4/4

\set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 1 = 20

<c es g bes d>1

}

}</score>

The formula is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9. This chord has a more "bluesy" sound and fits very well with the dominant ninth.

Major ninth chord

thumb|250px|Parallel root-position bop [[voicing (music)|voicings that open the choruses of Thelonious Monk's 1959 "Monk's Mood" feature a (C) major ninth chord.File:Monk's Mood major ninth chord.mid]]A major ninth chord (e.g., Cmaj⁹), as an extended chord, adds the major seventh along with the ninth to the major triad. For instance, a C major ninth chord (Cmaj⁹) consists of the notes C–E–G–B–D.

: <score sound="">{

\override Score.TimeSignature

1. 'stencil = ##f

\relative c' {

\time 4/4

\set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 1 = 20

<c e g b d>1

}

}</score>

Examples include Edvard Grieg's "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen" and Ennio Morricone's "In una stanza con poca luce" from Once Upon a Time in the West.

Dominant seventh sharp ninth chord

A dominant seventh sharp ninth chord is a dominant seventh chord plus an augmented ninth above the root. For instance, a C dominant seventh sharp ninth chord (C⁷⁹) consists of the notes C–E–G–B–D.

: <score sound="">{

\override Score.TimeSignature

1. 'stencil = ##f

\relative c' {

\time 4/4

\set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 1 = 20

<c e g bes dis>1

}

}</score>

Relation to other chords with the ninth

thumb|left|200px|Minor 6/9 C chord, featuring the major sixth degree of the [[jazz minor scale. ]]

thumb|200px|Second factor (D), in red, of a C [[added second chord, C^add2. ]]

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. The minor 6/9 chord is a minor triad with an added 6th and 9th, evoking the Dorian mode, and is also suitable as a minor tonic in jazz.

The second degree is octave equivalent to the ninth. The ninth chord could be alternatively notated as seventh added second chord (C^7add2), from where omitting the 3rd produces the seventh suspended second chord (C^7sus2).

An add9 chord, or added ninth chord, is any chord with an added ninth – C^add9 consists of C, E, G and D, Cm^add9 consists of C, E flat, G, and D, Cdim^add9 consists of C, E flat, G flat, and D, etc. Added ninth chords differ from other ninth chords because the seventh is not necessarily included. An add9 can also be added to an interval, like a C5, resulting in a C5^add9 chord which consists of C and G (C5) with D as an added 9 (C, G, D). Note that if the note is within an octave from the root, it is a second, not a ninth. In the case of C, D, G, within a fifth rather than spanning a ninth, this is a C^sus2 chord, where the second, D, replaces the third, E (C, D, G instead of C, E, G).

See also

• Jazz chord
• Dominant seventh sharp ninth chord

References