As the VG♭ major
- ii7A♭m7
- V7♭9D♭7♭9
- Imaj7G♭maj7
D♭7♭9 is the chord that wants to resolve, so ending the loop on it hands straight back to the top.
D♭7♭9 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The D♭7♭9 chord is a altered dominant seventh chord built on the root note D♭. Its notes are D♭, F, A♭, C♭ and E𝄫. It's enharmonically the same chord as C♯7♭9.
Transpose
Quality
Short answer
Dominant seventh flat nine chords sound dark and urgent. Stacking a minor ninth on a dominant seventh tightens the tension already built into the tritone, which makes the chord a strong pull toward a minor tonic.
- Notes
- D♭ · F · A♭ · C♭ · E𝄫
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7 · ♭9
- Semitones
- 0 · 4 · 7 · 10 · 13
- Note
- D♭
- Quality
- Dominant 7♭9
- Symbol
- D♭7♭9
D♭7♭9 on piano
5 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play D♭7♭9 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on D♭, index finger on F, middle finger on A♭, ring finger on C♭ and little finger on E𝄫. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard D♭ and A♭ are black keys and F, C♭ and E𝄫 are white. C♭ and E𝄫 are the keys you'd normally call B and D. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- D♭1
- F3
- A♭5
- C♭♭7
- E𝄫♭9
D♭7♭9 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, D♭7♭9 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. The fretted notes sit between frets 1 and 4. Strings 4 and 2 ring open. Don't play string 6.
D♭ · F · A♭ · C♭ · E𝄫
Try D♭7♭9 on the virtual piano
Free, in your browser: play with the mouse, your computer keyboard or a USB MIDI keyboard. No sign-up.
D♭7♭9 chord notes
Also known as C♯7♭9
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | D♭(Db) | |
| 3 | Major third | 4 | F | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | A♭(Ab) | |
| ♭7 | Minor seventh | 10 | C♭(Cb) | |
| ♭9 | Minor ninth | 13 | E𝄫(Ebb) |
How to use the D♭7♭9 chord
The D♭7♭9 chord is built from a root, a major third, a perfect fifth, a minor seventh and a minor ninth. Start at the root D♭ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: D♭, F, A♭, C♭ and E𝄫. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Dominant seventh flat nine chords are the classic altered dominant of bebop and gospel, most often the V7 of a ii-V-i in a minor key. Gospel piano voices this chord thick under the vocal line right before it resolves.
How D♭7♭9 differs from similar chords
D♭7♭9 is D♭7 with a minor ninth, a half step above the root, where D♭9 has a major ninth. Leave out the root and the other four notes form a diminished seventh chord a major third up. That is why it pulls so hard towards a minor chord a fifth below.
Where D♭7♭9 is used
A dominant chord wants to resolve. Its home is the V of a major key - and the I of a blues, where the pull never lets up.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the D♭7♭9 chord?
- The D♭7♭9 chord contains D♭, F, A♭, C♭ and E𝄫 (Db, F, Ab, Cb and Ebb in plain text).
- Is the D♭7♭9 chord major or minor?
- D♭7♭9 is a altered dominant seventh chord. Dominant seventh flat nine chords sound dark and urgent. Stacking a minor ninth on a dominant seventh tightens the tension already built into the tritone, which makes the chord a strong pull toward a minor tonic.
- How do you play D♭7♭9 on piano?
- Place your fingers on D♭, F, A♭, C♭ and E𝄫 and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right. On the keyboard D♭ and A♭ are black keys and F, C♭ and E𝄫 are white. C♭ and E𝄫 are the keys you'd normally call B and D. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard.
- How do you play D♭7♭9 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. The fretted notes sit between frets 1 and 4. Strings 4 and 2 ring open. Don't play string 6.
- What is another name for the D♭7♭9 chord?
- D♭7♭9 is enharmonically equivalent to C♯7♭9. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.