Minor Add 9
madd9
0 - 3 - 7 - 14Minor + major 9th (no 7th)
About Minor Add 9
A minor add9 chord is a minor triad with a ninth added and no seventh — in C that is C, E♭, G and D, written Cmadd9. It is the minor counterpart of the chord most acoustic guitarists reach for: coloured, open, and without the jazz implication that a seventh would bring.
Notes and formula
The formula is 1 – ♭3 – 5 – 9, or 0 – 3 – 7 – 14 in semitones. Four notes, and the absence of the seventh is what separates it from a minor ninth chord.
The ninth is a major ninth even over a minor triad, and it sits a whole tone above the octave rather than beside the root. That distance is why the chord sounds bright rather than crowded.
How to play it
On guitar the movable form is x–3–1–0–3–x, sounding C–E♭–G–D. The open third string carries the fifth, which is why the shape rings more than a barre would.
On piano keep the D above the fifth: C–E♭–G–D. Placed under the third it turns into the add2 cluster and changes character entirely.
How it sounds
A minor added-ninth chord is a minor chord with more air. Nothing has become unstable — no seventh, no tritone — and the added ninth simply keeps the triad from sounding plain when it is held.
Compared with a minor ninth chord it is lighter and less specific: the missing seventh removes the jazz colour, which is why folk, indie and film writing use this one and jazz uses the other.
Where you hear it
In acoustic songwriting, where a plain minor chord under a sustained note sounds thin. In post-rock and ambient guitar, where open strings supply the ninth for free.
It also appears constantly in piano ballads as a substitute for a plain minor triad, and listeners rarely register a chord change — the substitution is close to free.
Against its neighbours
Cm9 adds a flattened seventh underneath the same ninth and turns the chord jazz. Cmadd2 keeps the ninth low as a second and turns it uneasy. Csus2 removes the third and turns it neutral.
Four chords, one added note, four different jobs — and the distinctions are audible enough that substituting one for another changes the character of a section.
Scales that contain it
Dorian and Aeolian both fit and differ only in the sixth degree, which the chord says nothing about.
Phrygian does not fit: its lowered second contradicts the chord's ninth directly. That exclusion applies to every minor chord with a natural ninth in it.
Frequently asked questions
What notes are in a Cmadd9 chord?
C, E♭, G and D. On guitar, x–3–1–0–3–x.
What is the difference between madd9 and m9?
The seventh. Cm9 contains B♭ as well, which gives it a jazz colour; Cmadd9 has only the triad and the ninth.
Can I use it instead of a plain minor chord?
Usually, yes. It adds no tension and no pull, so the substitution changes the texture rather than the harmony — unless the melody sits on the note a semitone from the ninth.