Bmaj9 Piano Chord

Bmaj9 is the B major ninth chord. It has five notes: B, D sharp, F sharp, A sharp and C sharp. Only the B is a white key, and the chord spans a ninth, so the root usually goes to the left hand.

B at the bottom, then D sharp, F sharp, A sharp and C sharp. One white key and four black; give the B to the left hand if the span is too wide.

How to play Bmaj9 on piano, step by step

Start on the B below middle C. That is the lowest note of the chord.
Thumb (1): B
Index finger (2): D♯
Middle finger (3): F♯
Ring finger (4): A♯
Little finger (5): C♯
That reach is wider than an octave, so most players split it: play B with the left hand and the other notes with the right. If you keep it in one hand, leave out the fifth (F♯), the note the chord misses least.

Four of the five notes are black keys, so the hand plays high on the keyboard with only the thumb down on white. It looks harder than it is: the black keys are grouped, and the fingers fall onto them in one shape.

If it sounds wrong

The thumb drags the hand off the black keys: Keep the hand far enough into the keyboard that the fingers reach the black keys without straightening. The thumb on B should sit near the base of the black key group, not out at the white key edge.
The stretch is too wide: Play B with the left hand and D sharp, F sharp, A sharp and C sharp with the right. The right hand part is then four black keys, which is a comfortable shape.
It sounds pushy instead of calm: That is A natural instead of A sharp. Bmaj9 needs the major seventh; with A natural it becomes B9, a chord that wants to move to E.

What makes it a Bmaj9

B · D♯ · F♯ · A♯ · C♯ 1 3 5 7 9

Bmaj9 is Bmaj7 with a ninth added: B, D sharp, F sharp and A sharp make the major seventh chord, and the C sharp on top makes it a ninth. The A sharp a half step under the octave is what gives the chord its floating quality.

It is the I chord of B major at its softest. B is more a guitar key than a piano key, so on piano this chord mostly appears when a song in B needs its home chord to sound gentle rather than final.

Bmaj9 vs Bmaj7

Bmaj9 is Bmaj7 with a C sharp on top. Both are calm; the ninth makes the calm wider and a little more modern.

In the hand, the seventh chord fits one hand and the ninth chord does not, so Bmaj9 is normally split. If reach is the obstacle, drop the F sharp: the fifth is the note the ear misses least.

Questions about Bmaj9

Which notes are in a Bmaj9 chord on piano?

B, D sharp, F sharp, A sharp and C sharp. Every note except the B is a black key.

What is the difference between Bmaj9 and B9?

B9 has A natural, the flat seventh, and pushes toward E. Bmaj9 has A sharp and stays put.

Why are there no inversions on this page?

A ninth chord is wider than an octave, so raising the bottom note an octave lands it in the middle of the chord instead of on top. What pianists actually do with ninths is rootless voicings, an advanced habit this page keeps out of the way.

Do I have to play all five notes?

No. F sharp, the fifth, can go. Left hand on B with D sharp, A sharp and C sharp in the right keeps everything the chord needs.

Is Bmaj9 hard to play?

It is friendlier than it reads. The four black keys sit together under four fingers, and once the left hand takes the B the right hand shape is small.