Arpeggio · C9 · Guitar
The C9 arpeggio is C – E – G – B♭ – D — chord tones 1 3 5 ♭7 9. C9 is a fuller V chord; the 9th sits on top of the dominant seventh; its sound is rich, bluesy. Below, every C, E, G, B♭, D 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 8. 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 C |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | unison (0 semitones) |
| 3 | E | major 3rd (4 semitones) |
| 5 | G | perfect 5th (7 semitones) |
| ♭7 | B♭ | minor 7th (10 semitones) |
| 9 | D | major 2nd + octave (14 semitones) |
Goes with: C Mixolydian (C D E F G A B♭). Voicings: see the four-note chord voicings in the chord library.
Common questions
C – E – G – B♭ – D. As chord tones: 1 3 5 ♭7 9. Played one after another instead of together, that is the arpeggio.
C9 is a fuller V chord; the 9th sits on top of the dominant seventh. Its character is rich, bluesy.
C Mixolydian (C D E F G A B♭) — the arpeggio is the skeleton of that scale, so practise them together.
Start on the root C on the low E string at fret 8 and play E-string fret 8, E-string fret 10, E-string fret 12, A-string fret 10, D-string fret 8, D-string fret 10. 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 C