Chord Drill: add9 chord
Found in: Accompaniment
Stephen R., California
I really like the Chord Drill program! One question, though: when the add9 chord is inverted, wouldn’t the 9th be on the bottom? Is that not a particularly desirable voicing, because you jump to the 3rd of the chord? Is this because the 6th chords also keep the 3rd on the bottom for 1st inversion? This question also pertains to 9th chords.
Elizabeth G., Australia
Traditionally, the root position chords obviously has the root on the bottom; the 1st inversion has the 3rd on the bottom, and the 2nd inversion as the 5th on the bottom. This works perfectly for our 3-note root position chords.
As soon as you start playing 4-note chords, things change up somewhat. Basically it’s up to you where you put the extra note. You could put the +9 on either the bottom of the chord or the top. In its inverted state, I chose the top. Ultimately in an accompaniment piece, this will be decided by:
- The position of the chord which goes before the +9 chord, and the chord that follows
- What voicing you actually like the sound of
- What the melody note it (to avoid clashes)
