E9 piano chord — the keys, the inversions, the theory
E9 is a ninth chord built from E, G#, B, D, F#. 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.
E9
E · G# · B · D · F#
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 E9
Root position
E · G# · B · D · F# · bass E
Inversion 1
G# · B · D · E · F# · bass G#
Inversion 2
B · D · E · F# · G# · bass B
Inversion 3
D · E · F# · G# · B · bass D
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 E9
- AV
In A it does this job: I – V – vi – IV
- A
- E9
- F#m
- D