CadenzaB seventh, flat nine
B7(♭9)
Also written B7−9 · B7b9
The dominant of a minor key: V of E minor. The ♭9 (C) is the ♭6 of the key it resolves to — the note that makes it sound dark. Its top four notes form D♯°7.
How pianists voice B7(♭9)
Nobody plays a jazz chord in root position. These are the shapes that actually get played — the same ones Cadenza shows when you play the chord.
Shell Left hand
1 · 3 · ♭7 — root, 3rd and 7th: the three notes that say what the chord is. Left hand, low; everything else is colour.
Rootless A From the 3rd
3 · 5 · ♭7 · ♭9 — no root: the bass player has it. The left-hand voicing of modern jazz piano. Without B underneath, the same keys read as E♭°7 — the bass turns them into B7(♭9).
Rootless B From the 7th
♭7 · ♭9 · 3 · 5 — the other half of the pair. A and B alternate through a ii–V–I so the hand barely moves. Without B underneath, the same keys read as A°7 — the bass turns them into B7(♭9).
Drop 2 Two hands
5 · 1 · 3 · ♭7 — close position with the second voice from the top dropped an octave: wider, warmer, the standard for chord melody.
Seventh, flat nine chords in every key
Every B chord
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