F9b5 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
F2 · Eb3
fingers 5–1
Right hand
Cb4 · G4 · A4
fingers 1–4–5
With bass · rootless
Left hand
A3 · Cb4 · Eb4 · G4
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 F9b5 chord
Other names: F 9th flat 5
Music theory name: ninth flat five chord
Common name: F 9b5 chord
Notes and intervals in the F9b5 chord
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| F | Root |
| A | Major 3rd |
| Cb | Diminished 5th |
| Eb | Minor 7th |
| G | Major 9th |