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The D9 chord on guitar: the funk shape and its relatives

D9 is a D7 with one more note on top, E, the ninth. It keeps the dominant pull of D7 and adds a smoother, warmer color, which is why it lives in funk, soul and blues. On guitar you rarely play all five notes: the classic shape sits at the fifth fret on four strings, leaves out the fifth, and uses one flat finger for two notes. Learn that grip and you also know C9, E9, G9 and A9.

D9 chord: notes and shapes at a glance

  • Name: D dominant ninth
  • Symbol: D9
  • Notes: D, F#, A, C, E

Each shape below is written from the thickest string to the thinnest: a number is the fret, 0 an open string, x a string you do not play. New to this? See how to read chord diagrams.

Shape Frets, low E to high E Notes, low to high What it is for
D9, funk shape x5455x D F# C E without A The one funk players use: four strings, root on the fifth string, the third finger flat on the G and B strings. No fifth, on purpose.
D9, five strings x54555 D F# C E A The same grip with the third finger flattened over the high E too. Adds the fifth, A, for a fuller strum.
D9, tenth fret barre 10 12 10 11 10 12 D A C F# A E The E9 shape barred at fret 10, root on the low E. All five notes.
D9, high and rootless x x 10 11 10 12 C F# A E without D C, F#, A and E with no D. A bright top voicing for when the bass player holds the root.
D9, funk shape x 5 4 5 5 x · 2 1 3 3 · fingers
D9, five strings x 5 4 5 5 5 · 2 1 3 3 3 fingers
D9, tenth fret barre 10 12 10 11 10 12
D9, high and rootless x x 10 11 10 12

Read each diagram from the thickest string on the left to the thinnest on the right. A cross means the string is not played, a circle means it rings open.

D9 on the neck: every D, F#, A, C, E

Standard tuning, frets 0 to 12. The highlighted notes are the notes of D9: any shape you build from them, anywhere on the neck, is still D9.

Fretboard notes
Swipe the fretboard sideways to see every fret.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 - E
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
2 - B
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
3 - G
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
4 - D
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
5 - A
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
6 - E
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E

How to play the funk D9, x5455x

  1. First finger on the D string, fret 4. That note is F#, the third.
  2. Second finger on the A string, fret 5. That note is D, the root.
  3. Third finger flat across the G and B strings at fret 5. Those notes are C, the seventh, and E, the ninth.
  4. Mute the low E with the tip of the second finger and let the flat third finger lightly touch the high E, so you can strum freely.

Flattening the third finger over two strings keeps the fourth finger free and lets you move the whole shape as one block. If the B string dies under the flat finger, bend the first joint back a little so the pad, not the crease, presses the string.

Let the third finger flatten one more string, onto the high E, and you get x54555: the same chord with the fifth added on top. Use it for full strums; go back to four strings for tight funk chops.

One shape, five ninth chords

The root of x5455x is on the A string, so sliding the shape changes the chord a half step per fret. These are the four strings the shape plays: root, third, seventh and ninth.

Chord Shape Notes played
C9 x3233x C, E, Bb, D
D9 x5455x D, F#, C, E
E9 x7677x E, G#, D, F#
G9 x 10 9 10 10 x G, B, F, A
A9 x 12 11 12 12 x A, C#, G, B

Funk players slide between neighbors, for example D9 to E9 and back, two frets apart, without rebuilding the hand. Try it with short, muted strums.

D9, D7, D7#9, Dadd9: what changes

Chord Notes Sound
D7 D, F#, A, C Plain dominant
D9 D, F#, A, C, E Dominant with a smooth ninth
D7#9 D, F#, A, C, E# Ninth raised a half step: rough and bluesy
Dadd9 D, F#, A, E No seventh: bright, settled, not a dominant

D9 does the same job as D7: in the key of G it is the chord that leads home, and in a blues in G it can replace D7 on the V chord bars for more color. In funk it often works the other way, as the one chord a whole groove sits on.

You may also see xx0210 called an easy D9. It plays D, A, C and E: the seventh and the ninth are there, but not the third, F#. It is an open, suspended sounding color that works over a D bass line, not a complete D9.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play a D9 chord on guitar?
The standard shape is x5455x: second finger on the A string at fret 5 (D), first finger on the D string at fret 4 (F#), and the third finger lying flat across the G and B strings at fret 5 (C and E). Mute the low E and high E.
What notes are in a D9 chord?
D, F#, A, C and E: root, major third, fifth, flat seventh and ninth. Guitar shapes often drop the fifth, which is why x5455x has only four notes.
What is the difference between D7 and D9?
D9 is D7 plus the ninth, E. It keeps the same dominant job (it still leads to G) but sounds smoother and more soulful.
What is the difference between D9 and Dadd9?
The seventh. D9 contains C, the flat seventh. Dadd9 is just D major plus E, with no seventh, so it sounds bright and settled rather than bluesy.
Why does the funk D9 shape use only four strings?
Because the fifth, A, adds nothing to the color, and four strings are quicker to grab and release. In muted funk strumming, the less you hold down, the cleaner the chops.
Yohann Abbou, guitar teacher and founder of Guitar Social Club

Who made this

Guitar Social Club is the work of Yohann Abbou, a guitar teacher in Paris who teaches adults. Every shape on this page is written string by string and checked against standard tuning, and the diagrams are drawn from those same fret numbers. The rest of our free guitar tools, including the chord finder, work the same way.

More about Yohann on his page, and about why Guitar Social Club exists.