Ninth

---

title: "Ninth" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["chord-factors", "seconds-(music)", "compound-intervals"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninth" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical interval"]

Field	Value
main_interval_name	major ninth
inverse	minor seventh
other_names	compound second
abbreviation	M9
semitones	14
cents_equal_temperament	1400.0
::

In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its sonority level is considered less dense.

Major ninth

| main_interval_name = major ninth | inverse = minor seventh | other_names = compound second | abbreviation = M9 | semitones = 14 | interval_class = | just_interval = | cents_equal_temperament = 1400.0 | cents_24T_equal_temperament = | cents_just_intonation = A major ninth is a compound musical interval spanning 14 semitones, or an octave plus 2 semitones. For instance, the interval between C4 and D5 (in scientific pitch notation) is a major ninth. : { \override Score.TimeSignature

1. 'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \time 4/4 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 1 = 20 1 } } If transposed into a single octave, it becomes a major second or minor seventh. The major ninth is somewhat dissonant in sound.

Transposition

Some common transposing instruments sound a major ninth lower than written. These include the tenor saxophone, the bass clarinet, the baritone/euphonium when written in treble clef, and the trombone when written in treble clef (British brass band music).

When baritone/euphonium or trombone parts are written in bass clef or tenor clef they sound as written.

Minor ninth

| main_interval_name = minor ninth | inverse = major seventh | other_names = | abbreviation = m9 | semitones = 13 | interval_class = | just_interval = | cents_equal_temperament = 1300.0 | cents_24T_equal_temperament = | cents_just_intonation = A minor ninth (m9 or -9) is a compound musical interval spanning 13 semitones, or 1 semitone above an octave (thus it is enharmonically equivalent to an augmented octave). For instance, the interval between C4 and D5 (in scientific pitch notation) is a minor ninth.

: { \override Score.TimeSignature

1. 'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \time 4/4 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 1 = 60 1 } } If transposed into a single octave, it becomes a minor second or major seventh. The minor ninth is rather dissonant in sound, and in European classical music, often appears as a suspension.

The fourth movement (an intermezzo) of Robert Schumann's Faschingsschwank aus Wien is constructed to feature prominent notes of the melody a minor ninth above the accompaniment:

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Fassingschwank_Intermezzo,_bars_1-4.png" caption="Schumann, ''Faschingsschwank'' Intermezzo, bars 1–4"] ::

Béla Bartók wrote a study in minor ninths for piano. Several of Igor Stravinsky's works open with a striking gesture that includes the interval of a minor 9th, either as a chord, as in Les noces and Threni, or as an upward melodic leap, as a in Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, Symphony in Three Movements, and Movements for Piano and Orchestra.

Augmented ninth

| main_interval_name = augmented ninth | inverse = diminished seventh | other_names = | abbreviation = A9 | semitones = 15 | interval_class = | just_interval = | cents_equal_temperament = 1500.0 | cents_24T_equal_temperament = | cents_just_intonation = An augmented ninth is a compound musical interval spanning 15 semitones, or 3 semitones above an octave. For instance, the interval between C4 and D5 (in scientific pitch notation) is a major ninth. : { \override Score.TimeSignature

1. 'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \time 4/4 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 1 = 60 1 } }

Enharmonically equivalent to a compound minor third, if transposed into a single octave, it becomes a minor third or major sixth.

References

References

1. Hamm, Chelsey. (2021-07-01). "Intervals".
2. [[Peter Westergaard. Westergaard, Peter]] (1975). ''An Introduction to Tonal Theory'', p.74. W.W. Norton. {{ISBN. 978-0-393-09342-1.
3. McCormick, Scott. (18 January 2019). "The Lush World of Eleventh Chords".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::