How do I play this C9 chord?

Bellycaster

When I play this shape chord, my thumb is over the neck and muting the Thick E String. I suppose you could try different wrist positions. Usually, the middle finger is kind of doing an overlap and in some way "clamping" down the ring finger to aid the barre.

You can see Roland's pic, his thumb is more behind the neck and his wrist is in a more medically advisable position. Try both variations.

viz

I use my pinky on the barre but I seem to reinforce it with my ring finger. 

https://youtu.be/Y4PfA2zMUcw

DefaultM

If it's an issue of you can't get the pressure from the ring finger to play all 3 notes, if you slide in to it from the fret below it helps a lot. 
Place the ring finger first, and the other 2 fingers afterwards too. Otherwise its difficult to move the ring finger when the others are already in place.

Roland

Bellycaster said:

When I play this shape chord, my thumb is over the neck and muting the Thick E String. I suppose you could try different wrist positions. Usually, the middle finger is kind of doing an overlap and in some way "clamping" down the ring finger to aid the barre.

You can see Roland's pic, his thumb is more behind the neck and his wrist is in a more medically advisable position. Try both variations.

I play the chord with my thumb behind or on top of the neck depending what I’m playing. The key point is that, to get my third finger barring cleanly, my hand is tilted at a slight angle rather than my palm being parallel to the neck edge. @viz’s is the same.

Bellycaster

Roland said:

Bellycaster said:

When I play this shape chord, my thumb is over the neck and muting the Thick E String. I suppose you could try different wrist positions. Usually, the middle finger is kind of doing an overlap and in some way "clamping" down the ring finger to aid the barre.

You can see Roland's pic, his thumb is more behind the neck and his wrist is in a more medically advisable position. Try both variations.

I play the chord with my thumb behind or on top of the neck depending what I’m playing. The key point is that, to get my third finger barring cleanly, my hand is tilted at a slight angle rather than my palm being parallel to the neck edge. @viz’s is the same.

I think I end up with my hand in the same position regardless what I play, but I don't know how extensively I use this chord in differing styles of music. I guess I use it in Funky stuff more than anything, but it's a chord that features just as much in Classical music.

Looking more closely at my hand whilst playing, it looks quite freakish with how I position my wrist, but I can slide up and down all day with it.

english_bob

When I play that 9th voicing I tend to end up using the "wrong" side of my finger- the side next to my pinky finger, whereas @Roland and @Viz seem to be using the pads.

grungebob

The first knuckle on my third finger bends backwards easily enough to bend it to cover the three notes. I use that technique when doing say a  C5 chord too

stickyfiddle

I don't think I've ever played that specific inversion before, but I just picked up a guitar without overthinking and barred the top 3 with the pad of my third finger. Thumb around the bottom to mute the low E:



To really get the high G to ring properly I'd probably add the pinky just on the e string, at least until my fingers had got used to playing it quickly & often: 

TINMAN82

Roland said:

This is more or less the most common “5th string root” 9th chord in blues and jazz. Awkward to begin with but just needs daily practice for a while. 

JAYJO

i view it as a dominant triad shape 213 but barre the 3rd finger across the bottom 3 strings.

fretmeister

I love being a bassist.

TINMAN82

JAYJO said:

i view it as a dominant triad shape 213 but barre the 3rd finger across the bottom 3 strings.

Exactly, it’s a dominant 7th chord with an added major 9th note.

ie C major triad (C,E,G) + minor 7th (B flat) makes the dominant 7th then + major 9th (D) to make C9. To my understanding anyway.