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Understanding the G9 chord


Apostata

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Hi all,

I'm learning theory and trying to figure out chords intuitively rather than rely on *shivers* chord charts. And so today I was figuring out the G9 chord. I figured it would be based on Gmaj, but to my dismay the 7th is supposed to be F and not F#. Why is this? Is this a rule for 9th chords or is there something I'm not understanding? Thanks in advance. 

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@Apostata  Hi, there, and welcome to the forum. Dominant seventh, ninth (as in G9), eleventh, and thirteenth chords all contain a flat 7th. Such chords are assumed to be dominant unless otherwise expressed (Fm9, Gbmaj11, Adim7, Bbaug7, etc.):

G7 = 1-3-5-b7 = G-B-D-F

G9 = 1-3-5-b7-9 = G-B-D-F-A

Learning to spell chords is a valuable skill. I created a chord construction worksheet, located here, that might help you. I consulted a professional music teacher to make sure I had it right. I hope it's useful to you.

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Any time you see a chord name such as G9, A9, C9, etc., it's just a dominant chord extended. A dominant chord is a triad with a flatted 7th, so the notes of a G7 are G-B-D-F. A G9 adds the 9th, so the notes are G-B-D-F-A.

A Gmaj9 would be G-B-D-F#-A. 

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Thank you both for this. Much appreciated. Learning theory can feel like being in math class -- difficult to make sense of things sometimes.

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Diane you have some great pdf’s on your link!

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