D9 piano chord — the keys, the inversions, the theory
D9 is a ninth chord built from D, F#, A, C, E. 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.
D9
D · F# · A · C · E
Semitones above the root: 0 – 4 – 7 – 10 – 14
A major third with a flattened seventh above it: unstable on purpose, and it wants to resolve a fourth up.
Inversions of D9
Root position
D · F# · A · C · E · bass D
Inversion 1
F# · A · C · D · E · bass F#
Inversion 2
A · C · D · E · F# · bass A
Inversion 3
C · D · E · F# · A · bass C
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 D9
- GV
In G it does this job: I – V – vi – IV
- G
- D9
- Em
- C