E6/9 — E sixth added ninth chord

A major triad with the sixth and the ninth added, and no seventh. The two added notes are a whole tone apart, which is why the chord sounds open rather than tense.

1 = E
3 = G#
5 = B
6 = C#
9 = F#

Symbol: E6/9
Root: E
Quality: Sixth added ninth
Family: added
Notes: E G# B C# F#
Degree formula: 1 3 5 6 9
Semitones from the root: 0 2 4 7 9
Distinct pitch classes: 5
Interval structure: Stacked from the root: 4 semitones, 3 semitones, 2 semitones, 5 semitones
Notation: Written 6/9 or 6add9. Common as a tonic chord in jazz, bossa nova and soul, and as the closing chord of a turnaround.
Key: E · E major / C# minor key signature

E6/9 chord fingering chart, six strings, frets marked — E6/9 — fingering chart Diagram: Will Chan

Formula

The chord tones in order from the root, with the interval each one forms above it.

Degree	Note	Semitones	Interval from the root
1	E	0	Perfect unison
3	G#	4	Major third
5	B	7	Perfect fifth
6	C#	9	Major sixth
9	F#	2	Major second

Inversions

An inversion is the same set of notes with a different one in the bass. The last column gives the distance of each note above the bass note, in semitones.

Inversion	Bass note	Degree in the bass	Notes above the bass	Semitones above the bass
root position	E	1	E – G# – B – C# – F#	0 4 7 9 2
first inversion	G#	3	G# – B – C# – F# – E	0 3 5 10 8
second inversion	B	5	B – C# – F# – E – G#	0 2 7 5 9
third inversion	C#	6	C# – F# – E – G# – B	0 5 3 7 10
fourth inversion	F#	9	F# – E – G# – B – C#	0 10 2 5 7

Playable voicings

These shapes were found by searching the fretboard of a standard-tuned guitar (E A D G B E) rather than copied from a chord book. The search allows every string to sound or to be muted, rejects any shape with a muted string between two sounding strings, rejects any shape whose fretted notes span more than four frets (a five-fret window), requires every chord tone to be present, and then sorts what remains with root-position shapes first and the most compact, lowest shapes next. The shapes shown are the first six of that ordering; other orderings are possible at the same frets.

#	Shape (low string first)	Notes	Degrees	Bass	Span (frets)	Sounding strings
1	12-11-11-11-12-12 (6→1)	E G# C# F# B E	1 3 6 9 5 1	E	1	6
2	0-2-2-1-2-2 (6→1)	E B E G# C# F#	1 5 1 3 6 9	E	2	6
3	12-14-14-13-14-14 (6→1)	E B E G# C# F#	1 5 1 3 6 9	E	2	6
4	12-9-9-9-9-9 (6→1)	E F# B E G# C#	1 9 5 1 3 6	E	3	6
5	12-9-9-11-9-9 (6→1)	E F# B F# G# C#	1 9 5 9 3 6	E	3	6
6	12-11-9-11-9-9 (6→1)	E G# B F# G# C#	1 3 5 9 3 6	E	3	6

Shape numbers run from the lowest string to the highest, so the left-hand number is the sixth string (low E) in standard tuning. Multiple shapes are listed because a chord can be voiced several ways, and because a lower position is not always the better sounding one.

Related chords and scales

KeyEverything in Escale, chords and neck map for this root
ScaleE majorthe scale this chord comes from
ChordE6the sixth it extends
ChordEthe triad underneath it
ChordE7the seventh chord on this root

Everything in E · All chords

KeyKey of EE F# G# A B C# D# · E major / C# minor
ScaleE major7 notes · 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
ChordE6 — Sixth1 3 5 6 · E G# B C#
ChordE — Major1 3 5 · E G# B
ChordE7 — Dominant seventh1 3 5 b7 · E G# B D
ChordEadd9 — Added ninth1 9 3 5 · E F# G# B
ChordEm6 — Minor sixth1 b3 5 6 · E G B C#
ChordEm6/9 — Minor sixth added ninth1 b3 5 6 9 · E G B C# F#

Everything in this key: E · Chords · Theory Atlas