NoteAtlas

Piano chord · Add 9

C add 9 piano chord (Cadd9)

C, E, G and D, played together. Root position is highlighted on the keyboard below — press play to hear it.

C add 9 in root position on the piano keyboard: C, E, G, DDFABC5EFGABC6C4EGD
C add 9 chord in root position on the treble staff

Notes in Cadd9: C, E, G and D

NoteInterval from the rootKey around middle C
CRootC4 · white key
EMajor 3rdE4 · white key
GPerfect 5thG4 · white key
DMajor 9thD5 · white key
  • Chord symbol: Cadd9 — C add 9
  • Formula: R · 3 · 5 · 9 (0 · 4 · 7 · 14 semitones from the root)
  • Right hand fingering: 1-2-3-5 — thumb, index, middle and little finger
  • Left hand fingering: 5-3-2-1, little finger on the root

How Cadd9 works

Cadd9 is C major with D added an octave and a step above the root. Unlike Csus2 it keeps the E, so it is still a bright major chord, just a more open and modern-sounding one — and the same chord guitarists play as x32030.

Cadd9 inversions

An inversion keeps the same notes and changes which one is at the bottom. That matters because it lets you move between chords without jumping: the closer the notes of the next chord are to the ones your hand is already holding, the smoother it sounds and the easier it is to play. Root position first, then three inversions.

  • Root position

    C add 9 in root position: C, E, G, DC4EGD

    C–E–G–D — the root, C, is at the bottom.

  • 1st inversion — E in the bass

    C add 9, 1st inversion — E in the bass: E, G, D, CEGDC6

    E–G–D–C — the same four notes, reordered so E is lowest.

  • 2nd inversion — G in the bass

    C add 9, 2nd inversion — G in the bass: G, D, C, EGDC6E

    G–D–C–E — the same four notes, reordered so G is lowest.

  • 3rd inversion — D in the bass

    C add 9, 3rd inversion — D in the bass: D, C, E, GDC6EG

    D–C–E–G — the same four notes, reordered so D is lowest.

Common mistakes on Cadd9

  • Putting the D right next to C, which sounds like a cluster. Keep it on top, above the G.
  • Confusing it with C9, which also has B♭. Add9 adds only the ninth.
C add 9 piano chord diagram
Cadd9 piano chord chart: C, E, G, D highlighted and labeled on the keyboard.

Piano chord data last updated . Every diagram here, in the printable PDF and in the chart image comes from one dataset, so the paper and the screen cannot disagree.