Chord Shapes

Dominant 7th Sharp 9th

Intervals: 1-3-5-b7-#9. Famous as the “Hendrix chord”, this sonority superimposes a bluesy minor 3rd (#9) over a major 3rd, giving a raw, mixed major/minor quality. In rock, funk and blues it is often used on the tonic rather than as a resolving V, creating a harmonically static but highly charged sound (for example E7#9 as I in E). In jazz it also functions as an altered V chord, often combined with b13 or other tensions when resolving to a major or minor tonic. The #9 often resolves up into the 3rd of the target chord or down into the 9th, and lines built around the altered scale or blues scale emphasise that push-and-pull between major and minor.