Minor Ninth Chord

The Minor Ninth Chord extends the Minor Seventh Chord by adding a major ninth. The notes are: root, minor third, perfect fifth, minor seventh, and major ninth. Its sound is rich, dense, and sophisticated, with a distinctive character of 'refined melancholy' or 'night dream'. The major ninth adds a particular openness and resonance that makes the chord less 'heavy' than a simple Min7. It is a chord much loved in jazz, neo-soul, and fusion for its depth and enveloping color. It works excellently as an enriched minor tonic chord (i9) or, more commonly, as ii9 in ii-V-i progressions, adding further depth to the harmonic movement.

Common Progressions

• ii9 - V7 - Imaj7 (an enriched variant of the standard jazz progression, where the ii9 gives a more lush and complex sound)
• i9 - iv7 (the ninth adds a deep and meditative color to the minor tonic chord)
• Substitute for Minor7 in contexts where a fuller and more sophisticated sound is desired, without altering its function.