E7#9 E dominant seventh sharp nine chord
- Notes
- E G# B D F##
- Formula
- 1 3 5 b7 #9
- Semitones
- 0 4 7 10 15 above the root
- Other symbols
- E7(#9), E7+9
E to G# is a major third (4 semitones), G# to B is a minor third (3 semitones), B to D is a minor third (3 semitones), D to F## is a perfect fourth (5 semitones). A dominant seventh with a raised ninth, F##. On the keyboard F## 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.
E7#9 on the piano
Root position from E4: E4, G#4, B4, D5, F##5. Middle C is C4.
E7#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 E as its lowest note.
x 7 6 7 8 x (low E to high e)
Sounds E3 G#3 D4 F##4, 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 E7#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 | E G# B D F## | E7#9 | |
| 1st inversion | G# B D F## E | Em7/G# (also read as E7#9/G#) | |
| 2nd inversion | B D F## E G# | E7#9/B | |
| 3rd inversion | D F## E G# B | E7#9/D | |
| 4th inversion | F## E G# B D | E7/G |
Where E7#9 fits
E7#9 has no place among the chords built from a major or minor scale: it holds a major third, G#, and the sharp ninth F##, 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.