Badd9 B major add nine chord
- Notes
- B D# F# C#
- Formula
- 1 3 5 9
- Semitones
- 0 4 7 14 above the root
- Other symbols
- B(add9), Badd2
B to D# is a major third (4 semitones), D# to F# is a minor third (3 semitones), F# to C# is a perfect fifth (7 semitones). A major triad with the ninth, C#, added and no seventh. The ninth is the second of the scale an octave up, so with C# played right next to the root the same chord is often written Badd2. It is not Bsus2: the third D# is still there.
Badd9 on the piano
Root position from B4: B4, D#5, F#5, C#6. Middle C is C4.
Badd9 on the guitar
Standard tuning (E A D G B E). Strings run low E on the left to high e on the right, frets downwards; × is a muted string, ○ an open string, and each dot shows the note it sounds, with the root in blue-green. Every shape below has B as its lowest note.
x 2 1 x 2 2 (low E to high e)
Sounds B2 D#3 C#4 F#4
7 6 x 6 7 x (low E to high e)
Sounds B2 D#3 C#4 F#4
The E-shape and A-shape grips are movable: an E-shape chord's root is the note under your first finger on the low E string, an A-shape chord's root is the note on the A string. Slide the same grip up or down to play major add nine chords on other roots.
Inversions of Badd9
An inversion puts a note other than the root in the bass. The name is what semicord's chord finder calls those notes played bottom to top; a slash name like C/E means a C chord with E in the bass.
| Position | Notes, bass first | Named | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root position | B D# F# C# | Badd9 | |
| 1st inversion | D# F# C# B | Badd9/D# | |
| 2nd inversion | F# C# B D# | Badd9/F# | |
| 3rd inversion | C# B D# F# | B/C# (also read as Badd9/C#) |
Where Badd9 fits
Badd9 is I in B major, IV in F# major, V in E major. The added C# belongs to all three of those keys, so Badd9 can stand in for B wherever it appears; it keeps the major sound but softens it. It is not a substitute for B9, which also has the seventh A.