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. 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. Strum only the strings marked as active in the diagram.
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.
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.
- How do you play E6/9 on guitar?
- E6/9 is typically played with the fingering shown in the diagram above. If one of the chord tones lines up with an open string, an open position is worth trying too.
- 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.