As the tonic (I)E major
Home. The loop leaves E6/9 and keeps coming back to it.
E6/9 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The E6/9 chord is a six-nine chord built on the root note E. Its notes are E, G♯, B, C♯ and F♯.
Transpose
Quality
Short answer
Six-nine chords sound bright and pleasantly unresolved. A major sixth and a ninth sit on the triad with no seventh at all, so the chord never pulls toward a resolution and can simply sit there, which is why bands often end a song on one.
- Notes
- E · G♯ · B · C♯ · F♯
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · 6 · 9
- Semitones
- 0 · 4 · 7 · 9 · 14
- Note
- E
- Quality
- Six-Nine
- Symbol
- E6/9
E6/9 on piano
5 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play E6/9 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on E, index finger on G♯, middle finger on B, ring finger on C♯ and little finger on F♯. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard G♯, C♯ and F♯ are black keys and E and B are white. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- E1
- G♯3
- B5
- C♯6
- F♯9
E6/9 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, E6/9 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. The fretted notes sit between frets 1 and 4. Strings 6, 2 and 1 ring open.
E · G♯ · B · C♯ · F♯
Play E6/9 on the online piano
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E6/9 chord notes
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | E | |
| 3 | Major third | 4 | G♯(G#) | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | B | |
| 6 | Major sixth | 9 | C♯(C#) | |
| 9 | Major ninth | 14 | F♯(F#) |
How to use the E6/9 chord
The E6/9 chord is built from a root, a major third, a perfect fifth, a major sixth and a major ninth. Start at the root E and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: E, G♯, B, C♯ and F♯. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Six-nine chords are a favourite ending for jazz standards and pop ballads, taking the place of a plain major or major seventh chord as the final I. They also work as a colourful substitute for a major triad anywhere in a progression.
How E6/9 differs from similar chords
E6/9 adds both the sixth and the ninth to E and leaves out the seventh, which separates it from Emaj9 and E13. With no seventh and no fourth, none of its notes clash, so nothing in it needs to resolve. Its five notes are the major pentatonic scale stacked into one chord.
Where E6/9 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 E6/9 chord?
- The E6/9 chord contains E, G♯, B, C♯ and F♯ (E, G#, B, C# and F# in plain text).
- Is the E6/9 chord major or minor?
- E6/9 is a six-nine chord. Six-nine chords sound bright and pleasantly unresolved. A major sixth and a ninth sit on the triad with no seventh at all, so the chord never pulls toward a resolution and can simply sit there, which is why bands often end a song on one.
- How do you play E6/9 on piano?
- Place your fingers on E, G♯, B, C♯ and F♯ 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 G♯, C♯ and F♯ are black keys and E and B are white.
- How do you play E6/9 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. The fretted notes sit between frets 1 and 4. Strings 6, 2 and 1 ring open.
- What chords work well with E6/9?
- E6/9 pairs naturally with the chords in the related section: a perfect fifth up or down, the relative major or minor, and anything sharing two notes with it.