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Major 9th Arpeggios - Lesson with Guitar Diagrams

A Major 9 arpeggio is an arpeggio based on the Major 9 chord (Maj9), which consists of five notes:

Root (1) - Major 3rd (3) - Perfect 5th (5) - Major 7th (7) - Major 9th (9)

This arpeggio gives a smooth, jazzy, and dreamy sound, often used in jazz, fusion, and neo-soul.

Major 9th Arpeggio Construction

Major 9th arpeggios are a nice alternative to major 7th arpeggios when you want to add a little bit of color to your jazz lines.

A major 9th arpeggio contains 5 notes.

As its name implies there is a major ninth (9) added to the major 7th arpeggio, thus giving tonic/root (R/1), major third (3), perfect fifth (5), major seventh (7) and ninth (9).

Major 9th arpeggios have the same notes as the chords they are derived from. 

CM9 arpeggio C E G B D
Formula 1 3 5 7 9

What's a Major Ninth?

A major ninth (9) is a compound interval made up of an octave plus a second (14 semitones).

It is an octave larger than a second. It brings specific color considered as dissonant.

It should not be confused with the minor ninth (b9) which is spanning 13 semitones (a minor second plus an octave).

Difference Between Major add 9 and Major 9 Arpeggio

As shown in the chart below, there is a significant difference between maj9 and major add9.

Major 9 arpeggios (and chords) are seventh chords (tetrads) with an added ninth (9) whereas major add9 arpeggios are triads with an added ninth.

Maj9 1 3 5 7 9
Major add9 1 3 5 X 9

 Basic Shapes

Here are four guitar shapes to play major 9th arpeggios. 

Major 9 guitar arpeggios

Superimposed Arpeggios

You may notice that a major 9th arpeggio contains a minor 7th arpeggio starting on the third.

The min7 arpeggio is superimposed with the maj7 arpeggio.

The example below shows the Em7 arpeggio (E-G-B-D) into the Cmaj9 arpeggio (C-E-G-B-D).

Playing an Em7 arpeggio over Cmaj7 chord makes it sound like a Cmaj9.

Major 9th arpeggio 1 3 5 7 9
Major 7 arpeggio 1 3 5 7 X
Minor 7 arpeggio X 3 5 7 9
Major 9th arpeggio - Superimposition

II V I Licks

The most common chord progression in jazz music is the II-V-I.

The next two easy examples show you how to apply arpeggios over a C major II-V-I sequence.

You will simply play a D minor 7 arpeggio (or a D minor triad) over Dm7, a G dominant 7 arpeggio over G7 and an Em7 arpeggio over Cmaj7.

In this second example you will play a F major triad arpeggio over Dm7 and a Em7 arpeggio over Cmaj7.

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Last edited: 2025-03-09

Comments

  • victor barker

    1 victor barker On 2017-08-24

    i find as a newbie to jazz that the info i recieve on the site is informative .correct . and easy to understand .i have taken private lessons and find this jazz site fresh with things that i know i should be trying to master keep up the good work
    jazz-guitar-licks

    jazz-guitar-licks On 2017-08-25

    Thanks

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