Cm9 piano chord — the keys, the inversions, the theory

Cm9 is a minor ninth chord built from C, Eb, G, Bb, D. Below: the keys to press, every inversion with its own diagram, the intervals it is made of, the keys whose scale contains it, and a progression that actually uses it. Press any diagram to hear it.

Cm9

C · Eb · G · Bb · D

Piano keyboardC4C5

Semitones above the root: 0 – 3 – 7 – 10 – 14

The third is minor — one semitone lower than in a major chord — which is where the darker colour comes from.

Inversions of Cm9

  • Root position

    C · Eb · G · Bb · D · bass C

  • Inversion 1

    Eb · G · Bb · C · D · bass Eb

  • Inversion 2

    G · Bb · C · D · Eb · bass G

  • Inversion 3

    Bb · C · D · Eb · G · bass Bb

Same chord, different note at the bottom. Press a diagram to hear it — inversions are how you move between chords without jumping your hand across the keyboard.

Keys that contain Cm9

  • Ebvi
  • Bbii

In Eb it does this job: I – V – vi – IV

  1. Eb
  2. Bb
  3. Cm9
  4. Ab

Questions