G9 is a G7 with A stacked on top, the ninth. It does the same job as G7, pulling toward C, but with a rounder, more polished sound. In a blues in C it replaces the plain G7 on the turnaround; in funk and soul it is one of the movable ninth shapes that do the choppy rhythm work.
G9 chord: notes and shapes at a glance
- Name: G dominant ninth
- Symbol: G9
- Notes: G, B, D, F, A
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| G9, open | 3x0201 | G D A B F | Three fingers, five strings, all five notes. The open G7 with A added on the G string. |
| G9, E9 shape | 3x3435 | G F B D A | The open E9 moved up three frets. The first finger lies flat on the low E, D and B strings and mutes the A string. |
| G9, funk shape | x 10 9 10 10 x | G B F A without D | Second finger on the A string at 10, first finger on the D string at 9, third finger flat on the G and B strings at 10. No fifth, four strings: the funk chop. |
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.
G9 on the neck: every G, B, D, F, A
Standard tuning, frets 0 to 12. The highlighted notes are the notes of G9: any shape you build from them, anywhere on the neck, is still G9.
The open G9, three fingers
Start from a G7 played without the A string, 3x0001: G on the
low E, F on the high E, three open strings in between. Then turn the open
G string into A.
- Third finger on the low E at fret 3 (G). Let its pad touch the A string so that string stays silent.
- Second finger on the G string at fret 2 (A, the ninth).
- First finger on the high E at fret 1 (F, the seventh).
- D and B strings open: D and B, the fifth and the third.
The E9 shape at fret 3
If you know the open E9, 020102, you already know this G9. Move everything up three frets and the open
strings become fret 3: 3x3435.
- First finger flat across fret 3, covering the low E (G), the D string (F) and the B string (D). Its middle rests on the A string and mutes it.
- Second finger on the G string at fret 4 (B).
- Fourth finger on the high E at fret 5 (A).
All five notes, and the shape moves anywhere: two frets lower it is F9, two frets higher A9.
The funk shape at fret 10
x 10 9 10 10 x is the four string ninth chord funk players live
on. It is the same shape as D9 at fret 5
and E9 at fret 7, moved up. The fifth is left out, which keeps the chord tight
and easy to mute: release the fretting hand between strums and the strings stop
instantly.
A classic move is to slide the whole shape up a half step and back down just before the beat. Every finger slides together; nothing changes but the fret.
Where G9 fits
| Context | What G9 does | Shape to try |
|---|---|---|
| Blues in C | Replaces G7 as the V chord, before going back to C | 3x3435 |
| Blues or funk in G | The home chord, held for bars | x 10 9 10 10 x |
| Acoustic song in C | A softer G7 on the way back to C | 3x0201 |
Not to be confused with Gadd9, which has the same A on top but no F, and therefore no pull toward C at all.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play a G9 chord on guitar?
What notes are in G9?
What is the difference between G7 and G9?
What is the difference between G9 and Gadd9?
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.