Lesson 47 · All 12 keys

Minor-Major 9th Chord Trainer

Learn how a Minor-major 9th chord is built one semitone-count at a time — a minor-major 7th chord (Lesson 46) with a 9th stacked on top — then put it to work with three MIDI exercises: playing all 12 minor-Major 9th chords around the circle of fourths, and 5 jazz plus 5 gospel chord progressions that show off its color, in every key.

How a Minor-major 9th chord is built

A Minor-major 9th chord — written m(maj9) (e.g. Cm(maj9)) — is a 5-note chord: a minor-major 7th chord (Lesson 46) with a 9th stacked on top. Every m(maj9) chord — in any of the 12 keys — is built the exact same way, by counting semitones to the right from a root note:

  1. The starting note — this note names the chord.
  2. Count 3 semitones up from the root — the minor 3rd.
  3. Count 4 more semitones up from the 3rd (7 semitones from the root) — the perfect 5th.
  4. Count 4 more semitones up from the 5th (11 semitones from the root) — the major 7th.
  5. Count 3 more semitones up from the 7th (14 semitones from the root — an octave plus a major 2nd) — the 9th, stacked on top.
Example — Cm(maj9): start on C, count 3 semitones right to reach E♭, count 4 semitones more to reach G, count 4 semitones more to reach B, count 3 semitones more to reach D. C‑E♭‑G‑B‑D is the Cm(maj9) chord.
An extended version of the minor-major 7th chord (Lesson 46) — the added 9th smooths the tension of the major 7th over a minor 3rd without changing the chord’s moody, cinematic character.

Try it: pick a root and build the chord step by step

Step 1 of 5
—
Chord toneNoteSemitones from rootMIDI #

All 12 minor-Major 9th chords at a glance

ChordRootMinor 3rdPerfect 5thMajor 7th9th

This MIDI exercise plays all 12 minor-Major 9th chords, one after another, moving around the circle of fourths — each chord's root sits a perfect 4th (5 semitones) above the last one: C → F → B♭ → E♭ → A♭ → D♭ → G♭/F♯ → B → E → A → D → G → back to C. Every chord is played as a full 5-note Minor-major 9th chord (root, minor 3rd, perfect 5th, major 7th, 9th together).

Chord 1 of 12
—

The 12 chords, in circle-of-fourths order

#ChordRootMinor 3rdPerfect 5thMajor 7th9th

Five jazz chord progressions built around the Minor-major 9th chord. Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
—

Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes

Five gospel chord progressions built around the Minor-major 9th chord. Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
—

Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes