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F♯ nine chord

F♯ nine Dominant family

Funky and sophisticated.

Easiest shape1 of 5

Square: the root. In colour: the 9th, which gives the chord its sound.

Change a finger and see what it becomes

Built from

F♯root
A♯major 3rd
C♯5th
Eflat 7th
G♯9th

A dominant 7 with a 9th stacked on top: still restless, but richer.

Tension: Leaning

Hear it in a progression

ii–V–I
The backbone of jazz. In B major.
Capo and transpose
Blues opening
The first four bars of a twelve-bar blues. In F♯ major.
Capo and transpose

Where it goes next

Thinking in B major, where it is the V7 chord.

Bmaj7
Imaj7. The strongest pull in music: tension resolving home.
G♯m7
vi7. The fake-out: you expect home, you get the relative minor.

Sounds close

C♯m7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have C♯, E and G♯.
C♯dim7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have A♯, C♯ and E.
D♯m7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have F♯, A♯ and C♯.
Amaj7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have C♯, E and G♯.

Scales that fit

Notes you can play over this chord, simplest first.

Keys it lives in