Arpeggio · B9 · Guitar
The B9 arpeggio is B – D♯ – F♯ – A – C♯ — chord tones 1 3 5 ♭7 9. B9 is a fuller V chord; the 9th sits on top of the dominant seventh; its sound is rich, bluesy. Below, every B, D♯, F♯, A, C♯ on the fretboard is marked, with the root in gold. Press play to hear a one-octave arpeggio, or tap any note.
Visualizer
Guitar · standard tuning
Piano
Play loops the arpeggio up and down one octave (switch Loop off for a single pass) in the position starting at fret 7. Tap any marked note to hear it. “Show” switches or combines the fretboard and keyboard; “Sound” picks the instrument you hear. Audio is synthesized in the browser.
Reference
| Chord tone | Note | Interval from B |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | unison (0 semitones) |
| 3 | D♯ | major 3rd (4 semitones) |
| 5 | F♯ | perfect 5th (7 semitones) |
| ♭7 | A | minor 7th (10 semitones) |
| 9 | C♯ | major 2nd + octave (14 semitones) |
Goes with: B Mixolydian (B C♯ D♯ E F♯ G♯ A). Voicings: see the four-note chord voicings in the chord library.
Common questions
B – D♯ – F♯ – A – C♯. As chord tones: 1 3 5 ♭7 9. Played one after another instead of together, that is the arpeggio.
B9 is a fuller V chord; the 9th sits on top of the dominant seventh. Its character is rich, bluesy.
B Mixolydian (B C♯ D♯ E F♯ G♯ A) — the arpeggio is the skeleton of that scale, so practise them together.
Start on the root B on the low E string at fret 7 and play E-string fret 7, E-string fret 9, E-string fret 11, A-string fret 9, D-string fret 7, D-string fret 9. Then play it descending, then in eighth notes with a metronome, then over the a fuller V chord; the 9th sits on top of the dominant seventh.
Keep going
Same arpeggio on piano · Dominant 9th hub · chord-scale theory.
Other arpeggios from B