minor ninth chord · C root
Cm9 chord
- C1
- Eb♭3
- Bb♭7
- D9
- G5
More actions
The C minor 9th chord is built from the notes C, Eb, Bb, D, G. It turns up 7 times in the 104 songs on this site, including Black Orpheus and My Funny Valentine.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the Cm9 chord?
The Cm9 chord (C minor 9th) is a minor ninth chord built from five notes: C, Eb, Bb, D, G — the 1–♭3–5–♭7–9 of the C scale, 3 semitones and 7 semitones and 10 semitones and 14 semitones above the root. On guitar it is most often played as a movable shape from fret 1 (x-3-1-3-3-3); shift all fretted notes together to transpose it along the neck. It is rated intermediate. A minor seventh with the ninth stacked on top, the smoky extended voicing of soul and jazz ballads. Across the 104 song sheets in this site's library, Cm9 appears 7 times in 2 songs, most often in the keys of Cm and Dm, and the chord it most often moves to is Dm7b5. Below you will find step-by-step fingering, audio of every shape, and the real progressions this chord lives inside.
How do you play the Cm9 chord on guitar?
Fret 1 barre — a movable shape, so this same fingering works for every root note.
- Lay your middle finger flat across the G to high E strings at fret 3, rolled slightly onto its bony edge.
- Press the A string at fret 3 with your ring finger.
- Press the D string at fret 1 with your index finger.
- Start your strum on the A string and do not play the low E string at all.
Leave out the lowest fretted note (A string) and practise the remaining strings. The bass changes, and the upper strings may still need a smaller barre; check that the third and other colour tones stay clear. x-x-1-3-3-3
How do you make Cm9 sound clean?
The D string at fret 1 supplies Eb, the minor third. The upper-string barre at fret 3 supplies Bb, D and G; check neither the stretch nor the barre mutes that Eb.
Compare Cm7 with Cm9 using the diagrams. Listen for the added D while keeping Eb clear; these voicings require a change of grip.
In real songs
What songs use the Cm9 chord?
- chord changes
- 7
- songs
- 2
- common keys
- Cm · Dm
Across the 104 chord sheets on this site, Cm9 appears 7 times in 2 songs — most often in the keys of Cm and Dm.
Dm7Cm9Fmaj7A#7
Gm7Cm9Fmaj7A#7
CmDm7b5Cm9Dm7b5
Chord flow
What chord comes after Cm9?
The counts come from our own song library — 1879 chord changes in total — which makes them a snapshot of real songs instead of a rule of thumb.
Three-chord moves
Three-chord moves are where a chord really shows its character. These are the ones that actually happen in this library, counted from the sheets:
The theory behind Cm9
Cm9 is spelled C – Eb – Bb – D – G — the 1 – ♭3 – 5 – ♭7 – 9 of the C scale, which is the root plus 3 semitones, 7 semitones, 10 semitones, 14 semitones. A minor seventh with the ninth stacked on top, the smoky extended voicing of soul and jazz ballads.
The ninth sits on top of the minor seventh rather than replacing anything, so Cm9 is a colour rather than a function. It is what you reach for when a plain minor seventh feels too plain, and it works best with the ninth as the highest sounding note, which is why the shape usually drops the fifth before it drops the ninth.
What key is the Cm9 chord in?
Cm9 is a minor triad with the seventh and ninth stacked on it, so it lands in the same three places as the plain minor chord: the i in C minor, the ii in Bb major and the vi in Eb major.
the home chord of the minor key
the gentle predominant — often before the V
the relative minor — the major key’s shadow
Cm9 on other instruments
C – Eb – Bb – D – G — the highlighted black keys are the sharps or flats; play each note once, then move them into one hand position.
Take it to the practice room
