Db7#9 Db dominant seventh sharp nine chord
- Notes
- Db F Ab Cb E
- Formula
- 1 3 5 b7 #9
- Semitones
- 0 4 7 10 15 above the root
- Also written
- C#7#9 (C# E# G# B D##)
- Other symbols
- Db7(#9), Db7+9
Db to F is a major third (4 semitones), F to Ab is a minor third (3 semitones), Ab to Cb is a minor third (3 semitones), Cb to E is a perfect fourth (5 semitones). A dominant seventh with a raised ninth, E. On the keyboard E is the same key as the minor third, so the chord holds both a major and a minor third; it is written as a sharp ninth because it sits above the seventh and the letter names follow the stack of thirds.
Db7#9 on the piano
Root position from Db4: Db4, F4, Ab4, Cb5, E5. Middle C is C4.
Db7#9 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 Db as its lowest note.
x 4 3 4 5 x (low E to high e)
Sounds Db3 F3 Cb4 E4, fifth left out
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 dominant seventh sharp nine chords on other roots.
Inversions of Db7#9
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 | Db F Ab Cb E | Db7#9 | |
| 1st inversion | F Ab Cb E Db | C#m7/F (also written Dbm7/F; also read as Db7#9/F) | |
| 2nd inversion | Ab Cb E Db F | Db7#9/Ab | |
| 3rd inversion | Cb E Db F Ab | Db7#9/B | |
| 4th inversion | E Db F Ab Cb | C#7/E (also written Db7/E; also read as Db7#9/E) |
Where Db7#9 fits
Db7#9 has no place among the chords built from a major or minor scale: it holds a major third, F, and the sharp ninth E, which sounds the same as the minor third. That major–minor clash is the blues in one chord. It is used as the I chord of a blues or a funk vamp, and as a tense V chord in jazz; Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" made E7#9 famous, which is why guitarists call it the Hendrix chord.