7b9 Chords and Voicings

7b9 Chords and Voicings - 6th String Root/Bass
The 7b9 chord is one of the four most common altered chords (along with 7#9, 7b5, and 7#5). These
alterations are all applied to dominant chords and have a variety of functions. They can serve as a “type”
of tritone substitution, or to replace a diminished chord, or for other purposes. As jazz instructor Noah
Baerman writes, “using one (or more) of these [altered] notes in a resolving dominant chord greatly
increases the bite in the chord and therefore the power of the resolution."
The ♭9 chord is recommended for resolution to minor chords, for example VI7 to ii (G7♭9 to Cm7) in the
I-vi-ii-V turnaround.
The full chord contains five notes:
Root – 3 – 5 – b7 – b9
In practice, however, many four-note voicings on guitar frequently omit the root.
How to play these chords on guitar:
6th-string root – example of G7b9 (which is movable) – this is a four-note voicing ordered from low to
high as R – 3 – b7 – b9 (G-B-F-Ab), so in this case the 5 (D) is omitted:
Technically, you could also include the 2nd string as open because that's a 3 (B), but this would be hard to
play without also striking the 1st string, which is most definitely NOT part of the chord. It's better to play
it here so the first finger can mute the 2nd string. Yet because this voicing goes no higher than the 4th
string, it's got a very “low” sound.
Another four-note voicing of this chord with a 6th-string root, which also omits the 5 (D), offers a much
brighter sound, though the fingering involves a little stretching. Ordered from low to high this is R – b7 –
b9 – 3 (G-F-Ab-B):
A different voicing of this chord includes all of the notes and all of the strings. In this voicing, the notes
are ordered as R – 5 – b7 – 3 – 5 – b9 (G-D-F-B-D-Ab):
Note that if you were to omit the root and the extra 5 (D) on the 5th string, what would remain is a
common voicing of a diminished chord containing all of the other notes in the 7b9 chord save for the root.
So this is a case where you could have a substitution.
FIRST INVERSION
A 1st inversion of this chord is essentially unplayable because it calls for more fingers than I have. A
playable version of it uses only the 2nd through 5th strings – so see the 5th string root chart for that.
It should be noted that you can play a rootless version of this chord as a 1st inversion, but when you
remove the root from a 7b9 chord you are left with a diminished chord. So you can think of this chord in
both ways (a rootless G7b9, or a Ab/B/D/F diminished chord). The notes are played as 3 – b9 – 5 – b7 (B-
Ab-D-F):
AND…since this is a moveable shape it can also function as a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th inversion as you go up and
down the neck and the bass note changes.
SECOND INVERSION
The 2nd inversion (with the 5 in the root position on the 6th string) can be played, but it's difficult
because it features a very cramped fingering. The notes played are 5 – R – 3 – b7 – b9 (D-G-B-F-Ab):
THIRD INVERSION
The 3rd inversion (with the b7 in the root position on the 6th string) is essentially unplayable in any of
the fingerings I've seen representing full chords. The only thing I can see as possible to play is a four-note
rootless fingering on the 3rd-6th strings that omits the root and the 5. This diagram shows the full chord as
b7 – 3 – 5 – b9 – 5 – R (F-B-D-Ab-D-G):
FOURTH INVERSION
The 4th inversion (with the b9 in the root position on the 6th string) includes two reasonably playable
fingerings. The first of these offers a very clear “b9” sound because the note is doubled on the 6th and 1st
strings like so: b9 – 5 – R – 3 – b7 – b9 (Ab-D-G-B-F-Ab):
The second fingering places more of the notes in lower registers and doesn't offer as bright a sound, - in
this case it's the 5 note that is doubled: b9 – 5 – b7 – 3 – 5 – R (Ab-D-F-B-D-G):
7b9 Chords and Voicings - 5th String Root
For the versions of this chord with the bass note on the 5th string, I'm using the example of B7b9. In the
voicing with the root note on the 5th string, There is only one reasonably playable voicing of this chord,
and it features all five notes as follows: R – 3 – b7 – b9 – 5 (B – D# - A – C – F#):
FIRST INVERSION
My chord dictionary offers no version of the first inversion of this chord (with a 3 or D# note on the 5th
string).
SECOND INVERSION
The second inversion (with the 5 or F# played on the 5th string) is essentially the same fingering as one of
the voicings of the fourth inversion with a 6th string bass, only in this case with that 6th string not played.
This voicing does include all the notes, as follows: 5 – R – 3 – b7 – b9 (F# - B – D# - A – C):
THIRD INVERSION
Again, my chord dictionary offers no version of the third inversion of this chord (with a b7 or A note on
the 5th string).
FOURTH INVERSION
The 4th inversion (with the b9 in the root position on the 5th string) includes two reasonably playable
fingerings. The first of these is the easier one to play and is structured as follows: b9 – 5 – R – 3 – b7 (C
– F# - B – D# - A):
The second fingering is, for practical purposes, only playable in a four-note voicing that omits the 5,
although that note is listed on my diagram, but I find it impossible to reach. This chord is ordered as:
b9 – 3 – b7 – R (C – D# - A – B):
7b9 Chords and Voicings - 4th String Root
With a 4th-string root, all voicings here would omit at least one note from the chord, though the only notes
we could seriously consider are the root and the 5. In the following examples, we’ll use F7b9 to illustrate
the voicings.
In this first voicing, the F is voiced on the 4th string and the 5 is omitted, with the result being R – 3 – b7 –
b9 (F-A-Eb-Gb):
FIRST INVERSION
My chord dictionary offers no version of the first inversion of this chord (with a 3 or A note on the 4th
string).
SECOND INVERSION
The only playable voicing of this chord in a second inversion (with the 5 or C note on the 4th string) is one
that omits the root, and a rootless 7b9 chord is a diminished chord, so the result is 5 – b9 – 3 – b7 (C-Gb-
A-Eb):
THIRD INVERSION
Again, my chord dictionary offers no version of the third inversion of this chord (with a b7 or Eb note on
the 4th string).
FOURTH INVERSION
The 4th inversion (with the b9 or Gb in the root position on the 4th string) requires some serious
stretching, but it can be done. Here again we omit the 5 note (C) for the voicing, leaving us with b9 – 3 –
b7 – R (Gb-A-Eb-F):

7b9 Chords and Voicings

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7b9 Chords and Voicings - 6th String Root/Bass

The full chord contains five notes:

How to play these chords on guitar:

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