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C9b5 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–3–2–3–3–2

How to play the C9b5 chord on guitar

Read the string pattern X–3–2–3–3–2 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) Do not play
5th string (A) Fret 3 · middle finger
4th string (D) Fret 2 · index finger
3rd string (G) Fret 3 · ring finger
2nd string (B) Fret 3 · little finger
1st string (high E) Fret 2 · index finger

Notation for C9b5 chord

Other names: C 9th flat 5

Music theory name: ninth flat five chord

Common name: C 9b5 chord

Intervals and tones in C9b5 chord

Note Interval
C Root
E Major 3rd
F# Diminished 5th
B Minor 7th
D Major 9th

All Variations

Open
X–3–2–3–3–2
Open
X–3–4–3–3–0
Fret 7
8–7–8–7–7–8
Fret 8
8–9–8–9–X–10

More chords with C as the root

The same chord type in other keys