How do I play this C9 chord?

Airlane1979

I want to play a C Dominant 9th in the position shown in the first diagram linked. There's no way I can get my second finger to bend onto the fifth (A) string while my third finger is holding down the 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings. How is this possible?

https://www.guitar-chords.org.uk/c-dominant9-chord.html

Airlane1979

I want to play a C Dominant 9th in the position shown in the first diagram linked. There's no way I can get my second finger to bend onto the fifth (A) string while my third finger is holding down the 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings. How is this possible?

https://www.guitar-chords.org.uk/c-dominant9-chord.html

donbot

I’d use me pinky instead.

CarpeDiem

Have you tried placing your 4th finger over your 3rd to hold down the G/B/E strings? You could also try varying the angle of your second finger as you hold down the A string and dampen the low E.

Johnnyseven

If it was me i'd barre the G B E strings with my little finger.

You could play the G and B strings with your 3rd and 4th finger and forget the E.

Alternatively pick one of the other fingerings.

EricTheWeary

That's pretty much the chord shape I play when I first pick up a guitar. Your third finger is basically lying across the strings. 
Oddly enough I was looking at a funk tutorial the other day and he plays it with his third finger on the G string, pinky on the B string and the high E not played/ muted. So you lose the G ( the 5th). 

Keefy

The top note in that voicing is the 5th of the chord and not necessarily that critical. I would omit it and play the middle 4 strings with fingers 2134 low to high.

Edit: like @EricTheWeary said

ArchtopDave

Keefy said:

The top note in that voicing is the 5th of the chord and not necessarily that critical. I would omit it and play the middle 4 strings with fingers 2134 low to high.

Edit: like @EricTheWeary said

Play this way. Then you have the advantage that you can move your little finger up a fret for a Sharp 9 chord, or lift up your little finger, and barre with your index (2131) to get a Flat 9 chord. 

EricTheWeary

As @keefy says getting that high G probably isn't critical in many cases. Playing as per the diagram, however, does let you do ( I'm not sure of the technical term) extensions with your little finger. You hear these in T Bone Walker and in funk, probably other places. Playing that 9 shape and using your little finger two frets above on the high E or high E and B, just as passing notes. 
Anyway, maybe that's running before walking. Maybe try barring the top three strings with your third finger and when that rings out adding the other two fingers. It's not using the finger tip or pad on the G, B, E strings it is literally lying the third finger across the strings like it's having a little nap. You then just need to add enough pressure so that the strings aren't muted. 

EricTheWeary

ArchtopDave said:

Keefy said:

The top note in that voicing is the 5th of the chord and not necessarily that critical. I would omit it and play the middle 4 strings with fingers 2134 low to high.

Edit: like @EricTheWeary said

Play this way. Then you have the advantage that you can move your little finger up a fret for a Sharp 9 chord, or lift up your little finger, and barre with your index (2131) to get a Flat 9 chord. 

Good point. Ideally do it both ways  

Matt_McG

I'm having a hard time understanding why it's hard. My second finger is almost completely flat when I play it. Other than the partial barre, it's not a hard chard to play. I don't mean that in a facetious or smug way. I mean that maybe there's something you could change in your hand position to make it easier? I notice when I play it that the fingers are not completely perpendicular to the frets, but they are at a slight angle with the base of the fingers closer to the nut.

robinbowes

I guess my hands are different, but I find that shape really easy

R.

Matt_McG

There's a particular "gypsy" guitar voicing for a 6add9 chord that I literally couldn't play for (years?) and then a slight shift in hand position, and ... no problem. Wonder if it's something similar?


and the minor variant

beed84

Yeah, like @Johnnyseven said, you could scrap the E string as it's the fifth interval – it's always the first to go. Alternatively, you could loose the root which would make it a 1st inversion, i.e. just play the D, G, B and E strings. 

Grangousier

Just to be a troublemaker, you could play the C on the sixth string eighth fret with your little finger, the E on the fifth string seventh fret with your ring finger, the barre with your index finger and, I guess, use the second finger to mute the fourth string. 

fandango

That first diagram looks wrong anyhow.

It looks to me like the 4th fret is annotated as the 3rd fret.

Anyone else spot this?

Grangousier

(It's a bit of a stretch, but that would make a change from having to squidge your fingers up.)

bbill335

middle finger on A string
index finger on D string
bar the rest with ring finger

or just leave out the C note and play the top 4 strings. would work fine playing against a bass hitting the root

EricTheWeary

fandango said:

That first diagram looks wrong anyhow.

It looks to me like the 4th fret is annotated as the 3rd fret.

Anyone else spot this?

There's nothing at the fret on that C9 chord? 

Anyway, I don't suppose a Modmin would like to amalgamate the two Discussions on this? 

Roland

Roland

EricTheWeary said:

Anyway, I don't suppose a Modmin would like to amalgamate the two Discussions on this? 

Your wish ...