Ab6/9: guitar chord voicings, inversions, scales and arpeggios

Ab6/9 (6/9) is an interactive GuitarArcanum page with chord formula, intervals, voicings, inversions, triads, pentatonic patterns, scales and arpeggios on the fretboard.

Chord formula

Interval formula: 1 3 5 6 9. A major triad with the 6th and 9th added and no 7th — a full, stable, 'expensive' tonic chord with no tension at all.

Chord tones

The 6th and 9th add richness, but with no 7th there's no pull, so the chord sounds finished. The 5th is usually dropped.

Sound character

Warm, full and conclusive — the classic final chord of swing and West Coast jazz.

Harmonic function

A tonic. The ideal last chord: rich but tension-free, it pulls nowhere.

Typical progressions

  • Bbm7 – Eb7 – Ab6/9
  • Ab6/9 at the end of a tune
  • Eb7 → C6/9

Guitar voicing advice

Root on the 5th string, a compact 1 – 3 – 6 – 9 with no 5th. The 6th and 9th sit close together on top.

Compatible scales for Ab6/9

Other chord qualities on the Ab root

Compare this chord with other qualities sharing the same root.