E dominant ninth

E9

Also written E7(9) · Edom9

NotesE · G♯ · B · D · F♯
Formula1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7 · 9
E1B5D♭7G♯3F♯9
All its notes, from the root

The dominant ninth — what a jazz pianist plays on a plain E7 without being asked. V of A major. Leave out the root and the four notes left are G♯ø7: the rootless E9 is exactly that chord.

How pianists voice E9

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

E1D♭7G♯3

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

B5D♭7G♯3F♯9

3 · 5 · ♭7 · 9 — no root: the bass player has it. The left-hand voicing of modern jazz piano. Without E underneath, the same keys read as G♯ø7 — the bass turns them into E9.

Rootless B From the 7th

D♭7B5F♯9G♯3

♭7 · 9 · 3 · 5 — the other half of the pair. A and B alternate through a ii–V–I so the hand barely moves.

Drop 2 Two hands

B5E1D♭7G♯3

5 · 1 · 3 · ♭7 — close position with the second voice from the top dropped an octave: wider, warmer, the standard for chord melody.

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