• Who Else Is Interested In Learning The Easiest Way To Form Major Ninth Chords?

    in Chords & Progressions,Experienced players,Piano,Theory

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    In today’s lesson, we’ll be learning how to play the minor ninth chord.

    Quick Notes On The Major Ninth Chord

    Let’s get started by expounding on the following terms:

    • Major
    • Ninth
    • Chord

    The Term MajorĀ  – Explained

    Musical elements (scales, intervals, chords, chord progressions, etc.) have either of these two distinct characters:

    Major

    Minor

    The term major here is used to qualify the chord of the first degree in the major key. For example, in the key of C major:

    …where the first degree of scale is C:

    Chords that are founded on C:

    …have the same major quality with the key.

    The C major ninth chord:

    …is qualified as a major chord because the interval between its first and third tones (which are C and E):

    …is a major [third] interval.

    “In A Nutshell…”

    Beyond the relationship with the major key, the term major is used to qualify any chord that has a major third interval between its first and third tones.

    The Term Ninth – Explained

    Music scholars use ordinal numbers like first, second, third, etc., to quantify the size of a chord or interval. For example, the term ninth is used to quantify an interval or chord that encompasses nine degrees of a given scale.

    The C major ninth chord:

    …is qualified as a ninth and this is because it encompasses nine degrees of the C natural major scale:

    …from C to D:

    The Term Chord – Explained

    A chord is a collection of three or more related notes (agreeable or not), that can be played/heard together.

    The C major ninth chord:

    …consists of 5 notes that are related by a given scale and a class of harmony. The notes of the C major ninth chord are the first, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth tones of the C natural major scale:

    …which is the given scale. Also, it is important to note that the distance between successive notes in the C major ninth chord is in third intervals.

    C to E:

    …is a third interval, E to G:


    …is a third interval, G to B:

    …is a third interval, and so is B to D:

    “Alright…”

    Putting it all together, the major ninth chord can be defined as a collection of related notes (chord), encompassing nine degrees of the scale (ninth), that have a major quality (major.)

    An Exposition On The Skeleton Of A Chord

    The Formation Of The Minor Ninth Chord Using The Major Seventh Chord

    Final Words

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    Onyemachi "Onye" Chuku is a Nigerian musicologist, pianist, and author. Inspired by his role model (Jermaine Griggs) who has become his mentor, what he started off as teaching musicians in his Aba-Nigeria neighborhood in April 2005 eventually morphed into an international career that has helped hundreds of thousands of musicians all around the world. Onye lives in Dubai and is currently the Head of Education at HearandPlay Music Group and the music consultant of the Gospel Music Training Center, all in California, USA.




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