Major 9th Chords on Piano
The major 9th chord extends the major 7th by adding the ninth — creating one of the lushest, most beautiful chords in music. It is the quintessential jazz ballad and bossa nova voicing, with a dreamy, floating quality.
Formula: Root – Major 3rd – Perfect 5th – Major 7th – Major 9th
Scale degrees: 1–3–5–7–9
Sound: Lush, dreamy, sophisticated, beautiful
Symbol: maj9, M9, Δ9 (Cmaj9)
The jazz ballad chord: Cmaj9 is one of the most beautiful tonic voicings in music. It is warmer than Cmaj7 and more modern than C6/9. Drop the 5th for a clean voicing: root–third–seventh–ninth. Bossa nova, smooth jazz, and neo-soul all use maj9 as the default tonic.
Major 9th Chord in All 18 Keys
C Major 9th Chord
C# Major 9th Chord
Db Major 9th Chord
D Major 9th Chord
D# Major 9th Chord
Eb Major 9th Chord
E Major 9th Chord
F Major 9th Chord
F# Major 9th Chord
Gb Major 9th Chord
G Major 9th Chord
G# Major 9th Chord
Ab Major 9th Chord
A Major 9th Chord
A# Major 9th Chord
Bb Major 9th Chord
B Major 9th Chord
Cb Major 9th Chord