This week's Guitar Chord Of The Week is a dominant 7th Sharp 5 Flat 9 (7#9b5) chord. The chord name is a bit of a mouthful and it's quite a tricky chord to play, but it's a good chord to know, particularly if you play jazz.
Get used to the sound of this chord by playing the example progressions provided at the end of the article...
To play this chord, position the first and second fingers first. Then, lay the third finger over the top three strings. It may take a bit of practice, but once you get used to playing a barre with your third finger, it's actually not that hard to do.
Prevent the fifth string from ringing by damping it with your first finger.
Dominant 7th Sharp 5 Flat 9 Chord
The dominant seventh sharp 5 flat 9 chord is, like all altered dominant chords, simply a seventh chord at heart. The altered notes are the augmented fifth, and the flattened ninth.
The other notes in the chord, namely the root note, major third and minor seventh, are from the standard dominant seventh chord.
Therefore, a C7#9b5 chord will contain the notes: C, E, G#, Bb and Db.
We looked at dominant chords in this article, and have also covered altered chords. If you want to know more about chord theory, take a look at these articles.
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How To Use The Dominant 7th Sharp 5 Flat 9 Chord
As with most altered dominant chords, the Dominant 7th Sharp 5 Flat 9 Chord can be used instead of a standard dominant 7th chord in many situations.
Try playing chord progression 1, which contains a standard 7th chord. Then, play progression 2, in which the dominant 7th chord is substituted with a dominant 7th sharp 5 Flat 9 Chord.
You will probably notice that the second progression sounds more complex harmonically. Substitutions such as this are frequently used by jazz musicians.
Try using the 7th Sharp 5 Flat 9 chord in your own songs by using it in place of any dominant 7th chords.
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