Arpeggio · Em9 · Guitar
The Em9 arpeggio is E – G – B – D – F♯ — chord tones 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9. Em9 is a coloured ii chord or minor tonic; its sound is smooth, modern. Below, every E, G, B, D, F♯ on the fretboard is marked, with the root in gold. Press play to hear a one-octave arpeggio, or tap any note.
Visualizer
Guitar · standard tuning
Piano
Play runs the arpeggio up and down one octave in the position starting at fret 7. Tap any marked note to hear it. “Show” switches or combines the fretboard and keyboard; “Sound” picks the instrument you hear. Audio is synthesized in the browser.
Reference
| Chord tone | Note | Interval from E |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | E | unison (0 semitones) |
| ♭3 | G | minor 3rd (3 semitones) |
| 5 | B | perfect 5th (7 semitones) |
| ♭7 | D | minor 7th (10 semitones) |
| 9 | F♯ | major 2nd + octave (14 semitones) |
Goes with: E Dorian (E F♯ G A B C♯ D). Voicings: see the four-note chord voicings in the chord library.
Common questions
E – G – B – D – F♯. As chord tones: 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9. Played one after another instead of together, that is the arpeggio.
Em9 is a coloured ii chord or minor tonic. Its character is smooth, modern.
E Dorian (E F♯ G A B C♯ D) — the arpeggio is the skeleton of that scale, so practise them together.
Start on the root E on the A string at fret 7 and play A-string fret 7, A-string fret 9, A-string fret 10, D-string fret 9, G-string fret 7, G-string fret 9. Then play it descending, then in eighth notes with a metronome, then over the a coloured ii chord or minor tonic.
Keep going
Same arpeggio on piano · Minor 9th hub · chord-scale theory.
Other arpeggios from E