F7b9 F dominant seventh flat nine chord
- Notes
- F A C Eb Gb
- Formula
- 1 3 5 b7 b9
- Semitones
- 0 4 7 10 13 above the root
- Other symbols
- F7(b9), F7-9
F to A is a major third (4 semitones), A to C is a minor third (3 semitones), C to Eb is a minor third (3 semitones), Eb to Gb is a minor third (3 semitones). A dominant seventh with a flattened ninth, Gb, a half step (plus an octave) above the root. It is the sharpest-sounding of the common dominant chords and pulls hard towards a minor tonic.
F7b9 on the piano
Root position from F4: F4, A4, C5, Eb5, Gb5. Middle C is C4.
F7b9 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 F as its lowest note.
1 x 1 2 1 2 (low E to high e)
Sounds F2 Eb3 A3 C4 Gb4
x 8 7 8 7 x (low E to high e)
Sounds F3 A3 Eb4 Gb4, 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 flat nine chords on other roots.
Inversions of F7b9
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 | F A C Eb Gb | F7b9 | |
| 1st inversion | A C Eb Gb F | F7b9/A | |
| 2nd inversion | C Eb Gb F A | F7b9/C | |
| 3rd inversion | Eb Gb F A C | F7b9/Eb | |
| 4th inversion | Gb F A C Eb | F7/Gb (also read as F7b9/Gb) |
Where F7b9 fits
F7b9 is V7b9 in Bb minor. Its upper four notes A C Eb Gb are Adim7, so F7b9 and that diminished seventh are interchangeable over a F bass. The flat ninth Gb falls a half step to the fifth of Bbm.