As the tonic (I)F major
Home. The loop leaves F6/9 and keeps coming back to it.
F6/9 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The F6/9 chord is a six-nine chord built on the root note F. Its notes are F, A, C, D and G.
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
- F · A · C · D · G
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · 6 · 9
- Semitones
- 0 · 4 · 7 · 9 · 14
- Note
- F
- Quality
- Six-Nine
- Symbol
- F6/9
F6/9 on piano
5 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play F6/9 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on F, index finger on A, middle finger on C, ring finger on D and little finger on G. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- F1
- A3
- C5
- D6
- G9
F6/9 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, F6/9 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. This one is a barre shape: keep the index finger flat across the fretboard and curve the others so they don't mute the strings next to them. Strum only the strings marked as active in the diagram.
F6/9 chord notes
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | F | |
| 3 | Major third | 4 | A | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | C | |
| 6 | Major sixth | 9 | D | |
| 9 | Major ninth | 14 | G |
How to use the F6/9 chord
The F6/9 chord is built from a root, a major third, a perfect fifth, a major sixth and a major ninth. Start at the root F and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: F, A, C, D and G. 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 F6/9 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 F6/9 chord?
- The F6/9 chord contains F, A, C, D and G.
- Is the F6/9 chord major or minor?
- F6/9 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 F6/9 on piano?
- Place your fingers on F, A, C, D and G 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 F6/9 on guitar?
- F6/9 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 F6/9?
- F6/9 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.