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 E♭7♭9.
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 notes
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♯, A♯ and C♯ are black keys and F𝄪 and E are white. F𝄪 is the key you'd normally call G. 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
- F𝄪3
- A♯5
- C♯♭7
- E♭9
D♯7♭9 on guitar
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. This one is a barre at fret 5: 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♯7♭9 on the online 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 E♭7♭9
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | D♯(D#) | |
| 3 | Major third | 4 | F𝄪(F##) | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | A♯(A#) | |
| ♭7 | Minor seventh | 10 | C♯(C#) | |
| ♭9 | Minor ninth | 13 | E |
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
No progression is shown for this spelling
Every key D♯7♭9 would have a function in has a tonic that needs a double accidental, which is not a key this library teaches. The enharmonic spelling carries the same chord in a key that exists.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the D♯7♭9 chord?
- The D♯7♭9 chord contains D♯, F𝄪, A♯, C♯ and E (D#, F##, A#, C# and E 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♯, A♯ and C♯ are black keys and F𝄪 and E are white. F𝄪 is the key you'd normally call G. 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. This one is a barre at fret 5: 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♯7♭9 chord?
- D♯7♭9 is enharmonically equivalent to E♭7♭9. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.