Bm9 Ukulele Chord

Bm9 is the B minor ninth chord. It has five notes: B, D, F sharp, A and C sharp. Four strings can hold four of them, so the shape drops the fifth. There is exactly one reachable way to finger the rest on a ukulele, and it starts at the 2nd fret.

All four fingers, one per string, root on the g string at the 4th fret. The fifth is left out, which no ear misses in a ninth chord. The grip is movable: this same claw is every minor ninth.

How to play Bm9 on ukulele, step by step

Index finger: 2nd fret, C string
Middle finger: 4th fret, G string
Ring finger: 4th fret, A string
Pinky finger: 5th fret, E string
Strum all four strings.

This is the movable minor ninth grip with the root on the g string. One fret down it is Bbm9, one fret up it is Cm9: learn it once and you own the family.

If the shape is not clean

Four fingers feel crowded: One finger per string, index first on the C string at the 2nd fret. Place them in that order every time and the hand learns the claw quickly.
The pinky note is weak: The pinky holds the flat seventh on the E string at the 5th fret, the widest reach in the shape. Curl it onto its tip and keep the elbow relaxed so the hand can rotate slightly toward it.
Strings next to each other clash: Each finger has to clear its neighbouring string. Check them one at a time: pick each string slowly and listen for the one that thuds.

What makes it a Bm9

B · D · F♯ · A · C♯ 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9

Bm9 is a Bm7 chord with a ninth added: B, D, F sharp and A make the minor seventh, and the C sharp makes it a ninth. The shape keeps the root, flat third, flat seventh and ninth and drops the fifth, the one note a ninth chord can spare.

It is the ii chord of A and the vi chord of D, two of the friendliest ukulele keys, which makes Bm9 one of the most usable minor ninths on the instrument. Minor ninths are the everyday minor of soul and jazz, where a plain minor seventh can sound bare.

Bm9 vs Bm7

Bm9 adds a C sharp to Bm7. Bm7 is settled and plain; the ninth sits a whole step above the root an octave up and gives the chord a floating quality that never quite lands.

On a ukulele Bm7 is a one finger barre across the 2nd fret, four notes under one finger. Bm9 spreads four fingers across four strings for the sake of one extra note, which tells you how much colour the ninth carries.

Bm9 chord questions

Why does this page show only one shape?

On four strings inside a reachable stretch there is exactly one honest way to hold B, D, A and C sharp together. Everything else either loses a note the chord needs or spans more frets than a hand can cover.

What is the difference between Bm9 and Bm7?

Bm9 has a C sharp, the ninth, added to the four notes of Bm7. Same chord, more colour on top.

Why is there no F sharp in the shape?

Four strings sound and the chord has five notes, so one has to go. The fifth adds weight but no character, which is why ninth chords always drop it.

Is Bm9 movable?

Yes. Nothing in it is specific to B: slide the whole grip up one fret for Cm9 or down one for Bbm9. The root stays on the g string.

Where is Bm9 used?

As the ii chord in A, as the vi in D, and anywhere a B minor is written and a richer sound is wanted, which covers most of soul, R and B and jazz.