Bm9 B minor ninth chord
- Notes
- B D F# A C#
- Formula
- 1 b3 5 b7 9
- Semitones
- 0 3 7 10 14 above the root
- Other symbols
- Bmin9, B−9
B to D is a minor third (3 semitones), D to F# is a major third (4 semitones), F# to A is a minor third (3 semitones), A to C# is a major third (4 semitones). A minor seventh (Bm7) with a major ninth on top: C#, 14 semitones above B. The fifth, F#, is the note players drop first.
Bm9 on the piano
Root position from B4: B4, D5, F#5, A5, C#6. Middle C is C4.
Bm9 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 0 2 2 2 (low E to high e)
Sounds B2 D3 A3 C#4 F#4
7 9 7 7 7 9 (low E to high e)
Sounds B2 F#3 A3 D4 F#4 C#5
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 minor ninth chords on other roots.
Inversions of Bm9
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# A C# | Bm9 | |
| 1st inversion | D F# A C# B | Bm9/D | |
| 2nd inversion | F# A C# B D | Bm9/F# | |
| 3rd inversion | A C# B D F# | Bm9/A | |
| 4th inversion | C# B D F# A | Bm7/C# (also read as Bm9/C#) |
Where Bm9 fits
Bm9 is ii9 in A major, vi9 in D major, i9 in B minor. Its upper four notes D F# A C# are Dmaj7, the usual rootless voicing of Bm9 over a B bass.