C#9b5 Piano 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.
Recommended voicing
Left hand
C#3 · B3
fingers 5–1
Right hand
E#4 · G4 · D#5
fingers 1–2–5
With bass · rootless
Left hand
E#3 · G3 · B3 · D#4
fingers 5–4–2–1
Right hand
Free
melody / improvisation
Jazz accompaniment with a bass player: the bass supplies the root, leaving the right hand free for melody or improvisation.
Other names for the C#9b5 chord
Other names: C# 9th flat 5
Music theory name: ninth flat five chord
Common name: C# 9b5 chord
Notes and intervals in the C#9b5 chord
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| C# | Root |
| E# | Major 3rd |
| G | Diminished 5th |
| B | Minor 7th |
| D# | Major 9th |