C^add9

About the Cadd9 chord

The Cadd9 chord (add 9) is made up of 4 notes — C is the root, E the major third, G the perfect fifth and D the ninth. A major triad simply gains a ninth on top — there is no seventh, so it stays bright and clear.

On guitar, Cadd9 chords are most often played in open position: x30010. Let the open D, G and high E strings ring, and leave the low E string out. The diagrams above show 4 playable voicings in all.

Add-nine chords stack a ninth on a plain triad for a bright, modern shimmer without a seventh.

Open Cadd9 in the interactive finder →

Common questions

What notes are in the Cadd9 chord?

The Cadd9 chord contains the notes C, E, G and D.

How do you play Cadd9 on guitar?

A common open-position shape is x30010. The diagrams above show 4 playable voicings you can strum or hear.

What intervals make up the Cadd9 chord?

The Cadd9 chord is built from the root (C), a major third (E), a perfect fifth (G) and a ninth (D).

More than a chord chart

The chart above is just the start. Open Cadd9 in the finder to hear it on guitar and piano and browse every playable voicing side by side. Or switch to Name my chord — tap frets or keys and MobileChords identifies the chord you're playing, inversions and slash chords included.