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A9b5 Guitar Chord

A tense jazz chord with a tritone. Often serves as a tritone substitution for the dominant. The fifth is already altered, so the perfect fifth is not played — the remaining notes are all included.

Guitar

Strings X–0–1–4–2–3

How to play the A9b5 chord on guitar

Read the string pattern X–0–1–4–2–3 from the low E string to the high E string. Numbers in the pattern are frets; numbers in the colored dots are left-hand fingers. X means a muted string and 0 means an open string.

6th string (low E) Muted
5th string (A) Open
4th string (D) Fret 1 · index finger
3rd string (G) Fret 4 · pinky
2nd string (B) Fret 2 · middle finger
1st string (high E) Fret 3 · ring finger

Other names for the A9b5 chord

Other names: A 9th flat 5

Music theory name: ninth flat five chord

Common name: A 9b5 chord

Notes and intervals in the A9b5 chord

Note Interval
A Root
C# Major 3rd
Eb Diminished 5th
G Minor 7th
B Major 9th

All variations

Open
X–0–1–4–2–3
Fret 4
5–4–5–4–4–5
Fret 8
X–0–9–8–8–9
Fret 11
X–12–11–12–12–11

More chords with A as the root

The same chord type in other keys