As the tonic (I)D♭ major
Home. The loop leaves D♭maj9 and keeps coming back to it.
D♭maj9 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The D♭maj9 chord is a major ninth chord built on the root note D♭. Its notes are D♭, F, A♭, C and E♭. It's enharmonically the same chord as C♯maj9.
Transpose
Quality
Short answer
Major ninth chords are lush and floating. A major seventh chord with a ninth added, they are one of the sweetest sounds in jazz and neo-soul, warm enough to sit still on for a whole bar.
- Notes
- D♭ · F · A♭ · C · E♭
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · 7 · 9
- Semitones
- 0 · 4 · 7 · 11 · 14
- Note
- D♭
- Quality
- Major 9
- Symbol
- D♭maj9
D♭maj9 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♭maj9 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♭, A♭ and E♭ are black keys and F and C are white. 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
- C7
- E♭9
D♭maj9 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, D♭maj9 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. This one is a barre at fret 1: keep the index finger flat across the strings and curve the others so they don't mute the strings next to them. Don't play string 6.
D♭ · F · A♭ · C · E♭
Play D♭maj9 on the online piano
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D♭maj9 chord notes
Also known as C♯maj9
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | D♭(Db) | |
| 3 | Major third | 4 | F | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | A♭(Ab) | |
| 7 | Major seventh | 11 | C | |
| 9 | Major ninth | 14 | E♭(Eb) |
How to use the D♭maj9 chord
The D♭maj9 chord is built from a root, a major third, a perfect fifth, a major seventh and a major 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.
Major ninth chords work as the I or IV chord where a major seventh would do, adding depth without changing the function. Bossa nova, jazz, soul and R&B treat them as a default tonic sound.
How D♭maj9 differs from similar chords
D♭maj9 stacks a major ninth on D♭maj7, and it differs from D♭9 only in the seventh, a half step higher. Without that major seventh it would be D♭add9. Its upper four notes form the minor seventh chord a major third above the root, which is how pianists often voice it.
Where D♭maj9 is used
A major chord is at home as a tonic, and just as useful as the IV or the V of a neighbouring key. Each progression below is written in the key its numerals name.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the D♭maj9 chord?
- The D♭maj9 chord contains D♭, F, A♭, C and E♭ (Db, F, Ab, C and Eb in plain text).
- Is the D♭maj9 chord major or minor?
- D♭maj9 is a major ninth chord. Major ninth chords are lush and floating. A major seventh chord with a ninth added, they are one of the sweetest sounds in jazz and neo-soul, warm enough to sit still on for a whole bar.
- How do you play D♭maj9 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♭, A♭ and E♭ are black keys and F and C are white. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard.
- How do you play D♭maj9 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. This one is a barre at fret 1: keep the index finger flat across the strings and curve the others so they don't mute the strings next to them. Don't play string 6.
- What is another name for the D♭maj9 chord?
- D♭maj9 is enharmonically equivalent to C♯maj9. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.