Minor 9th question

[dec_6]

Hi Willie,
I heard you say that the interval of the minor 9th should be avoided like the plague, but how then is it possible to have a b9 in a dominant 7th chord?
Does this situation not also arise when playing a major 7th chord with the 7th in the bass?
Thanks

[wmyette]

Great question.

Usually you would not play the C and Db only an octave and 1/2 step away from one another.

For instance, a C7b9 chord is: C-E-G-Bb-Db

but you would probably voice it like:

LH
-----
Bb
C <--- bottom note

and RH
----------
Db <--- b9
Ab <---b13 (tension which works well with b9)
E <--- 3rd


It really all comes down to HOW you voice the chord.

You can have all the "right" notes in there, but it may still sound bad because you attack the voicing too strong or the spread of the notes is wrong.

[dec_6]

Thanks Willie :)