Aadd9 Chord (Add 9)

Add9 stacks a 9th on top of a plain major triad, with no 7th in between — root, 3rd, 5th, 9th. The notes of Aadd9 are A, C#, E, B.

Brighter and more shimmering than a plain major triad, without the jazziness a 7th would introduce — a pop and rock colour chord.

Aadd9 voicings on guitar

Every playable, root-in-the-bass grip standard tuning offers, computed from the chord’s own formula — not a fixed shape library.

Compare it directly to plain major on the same root: the 9th adds sparkle while the chord still resolves just as simply.

Formula and intervals

R - 3 - 5 - 2 — 4 notes.

Scales that fit Aadd9

Every scale below contains all of this chord’s notes — safe territory to improvise in over it.

• A Ionian
• A Lydian
• A Mixolydian

Also compatible: Major Pentatonic, Major Blues.

Other extended on A

• A6 (Major 6th)
• Amaj9 (Major 9th)
• Am9 (Minor 9th)
• A9 (Dominant 9th)
• A11 (Dominant 11th)
• Amaj13 (Major 13th)