How to play Am9: a minor 9th built on A, with 2 ways to play it, the notes, the keys it belongs to, and songs that use it.
The first diagram is a common voicing: played at the first few frets with 3 open strings. An X above a string means don't play it; an O means play it open.
Frets from the low E string to the high E string: x 0 5 5 0 0 (x = not played).
| Note | A | C | E | G | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interval | R | b3 | 5 | b7 | 9 |
Am9 is a minor 9th with A as its root. The full theoretical spelling is A, C, E, G, B. This voicing sounds every chord tone.
Am9 is a diatonic chord (built from the key's own notes) in 2 major keys and 2 minor keys. The roman numeral is the chord's place in that key; tap a key for all of its chords.
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Am9 is spelled A, C, E, G, B: the root, minor 3rd, 5th, flat 7th, 9th. The common guitar voicing sounds every one of them.
Frets from the low E string to the high E string: x 0 5 5 0 0 (x means the string is not played). Fret the D and G strings at the 5th fret (one finger per string, or one finger across both). The A, B and high E strings ring open. Strum from the A string down; the low E string stays silent.
Am9 belongs to 4 keys: G major (the ii chord), C major (the vi chord), A minor (the i) and E minor (the iv).
