F Dominant 9th
9
0 - 4 - 7 - 10 - 14Dom7 + major 9th
About F Dominant 9th
F9 is the movable funk grip at the first fret, and it is where that shape stops being comfortable. The same fingering that falls easily under the hand at the fifth or eighth fret has to work here against maximum string tension — which is why most players move the chord up an octave instead.
The notes
F, A, C, E♭, G. The E♭ is the flat seventh, the G the ninth, and the C is normally dropped: the fifth carries the least information and its absence frees the hand.
Against F7 the ninth adds warmth without changing where the chord wants to go. Both resolve to B♭; one sounds like a field recording and the other like a horn section.
Where to put it
First fret with the root on the low E string, or eighth fret with the root on the A. The second is easier in every respect and sounds nearly identical in a mix.
The chord is also playable as a partial on three strings, which is what rhythm players use when a horn line occupies the register the full voicing would take.
The difference between the two positions is worth hearing before choosing: the first fret gives a heavier, slightly duller chord because the strings are longer and stiffer there, and in a dense arrangement that weight is sometimes exactly what is needed.
Where it shows up
As the V of B♭ major and the tonic of a funk vamp in F — the second being far more common on record, because F is a horn key and funk arrangements are built around horns.
It also appears in a blues in F, where all three chords take ninths and the form loses its rural quality entirely.