Lesson 57 · All 12 keys

Minor 7♭9 Chord Trainer

Learn how a Minor 7♭9 chord is built one semitone-count at a time — a minor 7th chord (Lesson 15) with a ♭9th stacked on top, instead of the natural 9th a minor 9th chord (Lesson 42) uses — then put it to work with three MIDI exercises: playing all 12 minor 7♭9 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 7♭9 chord is built

A Minor 7♭9 chord — written m7♭9 (e.g. Cm7♭9) — is a 5-note chord: a minor 7th chord (Lesson 15) with a ♭9th stacked on top, instead of the natural 9th a minor 9th chord (Lesson 42) uses. Every m7♭9 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 3 more semitones up from the 5th (10 semitones from the root) — the minor 7th.
  5. Count 3 more semitones up from the 7th (13 semitones from the root — an octave plus a minor 2nd) — the ♭9th, one semitone lower than the natural 9th a minor 9th chord (Lesson 42) uses.
Example — Cm7♭9: start on C, count 3 semitones right to reach E♭, count 4 semitones more to reach G, count 3 semitones more to reach B♭, count 3 semitones more to reach D♭. C‑E♭‑G‑B♭‑D♭ is the Cm7♭9 chord.
A minor 7♭9 chord looks similar to a half-diminished 7th chord (Lesson 17) on paper — both have a minor 3rd and minor 7th — but here the 5th stays perfect rather than diminished, with the ♭9th supplying the darker color instead. It works as a darker substitute wherever a half-diminished 7th chord would normally appear.

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

Step 1 of 5
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Chord toneNoteSemitones from rootMIDI #

All 12 minor 7♭9 chords at a glance

ChordRootMinor 3rdPerfect 5thMinor 7th♭9th

This MIDI exercise plays all 12 minor 7♭9 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 7♭9 chord (root, minor 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th, ♭9th together).

Chord 1 of 12
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The 12 chords, in circle-of-fourths order

#ChordRootMinor 3rdPerfect 5thMinor 7th♭9th

Five jazz chord progressions built around the Minor 7♭9 chord. Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
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Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes

Five gospel chord progressions built around the Minor 7♭9 chord. Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
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Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes