Explore the D9 Chord on Guitar: Interactive Fretboard Practice

Five notes form the D9 chord, D dominant ninth: D, F#, A, C and E. Compared with D7, the added E is a ninth above the root, a whole step over the octave.

The list has ten voicings, four with open strings and four barres, and the lowest sits at the 1st fret. D9 is the dominant chord of G, so it leads into G major naturally. Read more about this family in the ninth chords article. Phrases over it can come from the D Mixolydian scale.

The fretboard player at the top shows each shape with its notes labelled.

D dominant 9th guitar chord is also written as D9, Ddom9, D7(9) or D7add9.

D 9 chord Notes:

D F# A C E

Formula of the Dominant Ninth chord:

Formula: 1 3 5 b7 9

D 9 Chord Interactive Fretboard

Want a structured chord roadmap instead of jumping between pages?
Go to the full guitar chords tutorial.

D 9 Guitar Chord Diagrams

Position 1 Open

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Let the A string play without pressing any fret
Mute the D string
Let the high E string play without pressing any fret
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 1 of the B string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 2 of the G string

Position 2 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the high E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 4 of the D string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 5 of the A string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 5 of the G string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 5 of the B string

Position 3 Open

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Let the high E string play without pressing any fret
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 9 of the A string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 9 of the G string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 10 of the D string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 10 of the B string

Position 4 Open

Finger Positions

Mute the A string
Let the D string play without pressing any fret
Let the high E string play without pressing any fret
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 1 of the B string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 2 of the low E string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 2 of the G string

Position 5 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 4 of the D string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 5 of the A string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 5 of the G, B and high E strings at the same time

Position 6 Open

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the D string
Let the high E string play without pressing any fret
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 2 of the G string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 3 of the A string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 3 of the B string

Position 7 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 5 of the A, G, B and high E strings at the same time
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 7 of the D string

Position 8 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the A string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 12 of the D and high E strings at the same time
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 13 of the B string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 14 of the G string

Position 9 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the high E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 9 of the A string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 9 of the G string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 10 of the D string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 10 of the B string

Position 10 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the A string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 4 of the D string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 5 of the low E string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 5 of the G, B and high E strings at the same time

Find more shapes in our all guitar chords online library. If you prefer a printable pdf, download the Free Guitar Chords Chart Pdf

Play This Chord With Other Roots

C 9 | D 9 | E 9 | F 9 | G 9 | A 9 | B 9 | C#9 | D#9 | F#9 | G#9 | A#9 | Ab9 | Bb9 | Db9 | Eb9 | Gb9

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Created by

Giancarlo Facoetti

Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher

FAQ

Which notes spell D9?

D9 is D, F#, A, C and E. It is a D7 chord with the E, a major ninth over the root, added.

What does the 9 in D dominant ninth mean?

It is E, the second degree of the D scale one octave higher. That makes it a major ninth over the root.

How many voicings does D9 have on guitar?

There are 10 voicings, from fret 1 to fret 14. Four use open strings and four are barre voicings.

Which scale fits D9?

D Mixolydian is D, E, F#, G, A, B and C. It contains all five chord notes, and E is the ninth.

What is the difference between D7 and D9?

D7 holds D, F#, A and C. D9 adds E on top, so the chord has five different notes instead of four.