So if you want to make your chords sound really intimate and quite beautiful, it's really
worth looking at some of those add nine chords that we've already looked at within certain
keys. So thinking about when to play an add nine as opposed to just a straightforward
chord. Now again, let's go through the add nine chords in the alphabetical letters. So
firstly, A add nine. So we've already played that one. So it's like an A chord, but with
the little finger off and just the two middle fingers. You could also play it on the same
strings, but fret six and seven. So first finger here on string three, fret six, second
finger string four, fret seven. And the ninth note is this B. So what I'm doing to find
the ninth note, I'm basically taking the ninth note of the scale. So in A, A is one,
B is two, C is three, D is four, E is five, then F and G, six and seven. A is one or
eight. And then the ninth note is the B, which is the same as the second, but it's an octave
above. So remember, if it was a second played normally, it'd be down there, but it'd sound
really mushy down the bass. So you kind of do, it doesn't really give you an A bass note.
So you're playing it above the octave, which gives it this beauty. So that's A add nine.
Now B add nine, there's not really an easy way to play this, but there's a little shape
that I think you should be aware of. So the first shape I'm going to use is actually a
bar chord shape. So it looks like this. So you're laying your first finger across fret
number two, across the five kind of top strings there. And then you've got fingers three and
four on the middle strings, just a fret number four. And basically the note that makes it
add nine is the C sharp note, which is played there. Now that's fine if you know bar chords,
but if you don't know bar chords, that becomes quite tricky. The advantage of this is actually
you can move it up to any fret up the neck and it still plays an add nine chord, but
just in a different place. So for instance, B add nine, C add nine, C sharp add nine, D
add nine and so on. So that helps. If you can't play bar chords, there's another option
as well. Now this is the sort of the every breath you take police shape, which is quite
interesting, which is this. So what you've got here, you've got your first finger string
fire fret number two. Now, depending on how you stretch your fingers, and I'll explain
that in a second, you've got another finger here, that's string four, fret number four.
And then what you really need to do is stretch your pinky finger, your little one to fret
number six, string three on the G string there. So you've got that kind of, that kind of sound
there. Now for some people, they find that third finger an easier stretch. I find the
second one. So that's kind of really nice way of playing an add nine chord. Now, if
you can stretch that file, again, you can play it up at any fret up the guitar neck.
So that's okay. But do be careful when you're stretching, because I did myself some damage
when first practicing these chords, and I kind of really hurt my arm for about a month
or so. So just be careful in terms of posture. And if you feel like it's too painful, just
just give it a little bit of relax. But it will help you stretch your fingers. Now, moving
up with this shape, if we go up the guitar neck, you can also play the same shape up
here on strings six, five and four. But again, if you want to involve that G, that G note
there is going to sound pretty horrible. So you have to kind of move, move your fingers
around. So this time, you can play like that. So that's an option as well. But another option
which is really useful is to move even further up the guitar neck up to here. Now, again,
I'm barring across, but it's not such a hard bar because it's just on the top four strings.
So I'm barring across fret number nine, just on the top four strings, and then ring finger
is fret number 11 string three, and then fret number 12 string two for my pinky finger for
my little finger. Now that is B add nine. Now that's a really nice add nine shape, not
so hard to play. And what it does mean, again, you can use that fret and that shape at any
fret on the guitar. So if I were to take that down two frets, that becomes a add nine, another
two frets, G add nine, and so on. So if you're struggling to play a really complicated add
nine chord that's perhaps in a key like E flat or something like that, then you can use
that one shape to play any add nine anywhere on the neck. And it's really useful. So C
add nine. So instead of just doing a normal kind of C, we've got the C add nine here that
we like. And if you want to take the third out, sounds even better. So the add nine note
is just one above the root note, which is a D above the octaves. That's C add nine. D
add nine we've already done. So it's pretty familiar by now. E add nine. So remember it's
like a normal E chord, but you take off your third finger and you replace it on the second
note, but an octave above. So the second note in the key of E will be F or F sharp. And this
is F sharp, an octave above. So that's your E chord with your little finger. And I really
like that one. Very sting. So string four fret four. So that's E add nine. If I have
an add nine, we've already done it already. So it's like the F chord. You probably know
it's a sort of a basic open chord, but you're taking off your second or middle finger. So
we're leaving this G, which is the ninth note, open and ringing. And that gives you F add
nine. So just remember to bar across strings one and two of that first finger. And then
lastly G add nine. Now you play like a normal G, but we want an A note to go with that.
So remember A is the second note. Above the octave, it's the ninth note. So this here.
Now I probably keep this third finger off on the D as well. So it gives a slightly different
sound. G with four fingers, G with three fingers. So that's the G add nine. Now just remember
to dampen off. You'll do it naturally anyway, but just dampen off that fifth string with
the pad of your third, with your second finger. And that gives you a G add nine. Very nice
and finger picking.
