Chord & FretCm9 on electric guitar
On the electric guitar a chord needs only a few clear notes — the amp sustains them and fills the space, so you mute the strings you are not playing and let the tone carry the rest. In this Cm9 voicing the bass is C and the shape runs from fret 3 to 6, ringing 2 open strings. Plugged into an amp, each chord sustains for as long as you hold it, and the tone — clean or driven — shapes the whole sound.
Notes in Cm9: C – Eb – G – Bb – DFormula: 1 – b3 – 5 – b7 – 9In the formula, the numbers count steps of the major scale starting from the note that names the chord; "b" lowers a half step, "#" raises one — and a slash names the bass note.
Where to use it: The heart of neo-soul and R&B vamps — that is, those short two-chord passages that loop over and over while the melody floats on top. It also works as the arrival chord in a minor key, smoother and more modern than a plain m7.
The shapes of Cm9 on electric guitar don't end on this page — the whole neck holds dozens. In Chord & Fret, you check it note by note, playing any shape as an arpeggio; compare positions with their difficulty marked; and change the tuning — the shape rewrites itself. Start free. Unlock everything with Pro. Plays offline.
See the whole neck in Chord & Fret →Part of the Extended family.