C# Minor 9th Flat Fifth

Symbols:C#m9b5
Scale Degree Formula:1-♭3-♭5-♭7-9
Interval Stack:m3 + m3 + M3 + M3
Notes:C#, E, G, B, D#
Hear this chord:▸ Synth

Construction

Using the scale degree formula, we first start with the C# major scale, and number each note in the scale starting from 1 - these are the scale degrees. Next, we use the scale degree formula, in this case 1-♭3-♭5-♭7-9, to select notes from our enumerated scale. When a chord requires notes that are not in the scale, this is indicated with a flat (♭) or a sharp (#) along with the scale degree; a ♭3, for instance, would be one half-step down from the 3rd scale degree.
Alternatively, we can use the interval stack to construct our chord. With this approach, we first start with the root of the chord (C#), then move our first interval (m3), which brings us to our second note in the chord (E). We repeatedly apply each of the remaining intervals in the stack to get the full list of notes for our chord.
The diagram below shows how both the scale degree formula and interval stack methods result in the same selection of notes:
C#1D♭2D#2E♭3F3F#4G♭5G#5A#5Bb6B♭7C7C#8D♭9D#9m3m3M3M3

Similar Chords

The following chords are similar to this chord and may be a suitable replacement in certain scenarios.

Chord TypeChords
7th Suspended Four Flat 9thF#7sus4b9
Dominant 7th Flat 9thD#7b9
Dominant 7th Flat Five Flat 9thD#7b5b9
Dominant 7th Flat Nine Flat ThirteenthD#7b9b13
Dominant 7th Flat ThirteenthD#7b13
Dominant 7th Sharp FifthD#7#5
Dominant 7th Sharp Five Flat 9thD#7#5b9
Dominant 7th Sharp Five Sharp 9thD#7#5#9
Dominant 9thA9
Dominant 9th Flat FifthC#9b5, A9b5
Dominant 9th Sharp FifthD#9#5, B9#5
Half-Diminished 7thC#m7(b5)
Minor 6thEm6
Minor 9thC#m9
Minor Major 7thEmM7
Minor Major 9thEmMaj9
Minor Six-NineEm6/9

Associated Scales

This chord can be found in the following scales.

ScaleRoots
Dorian b5C#
Harmonic MajorB
Harmonic MinorG#
Ionian #5B
Locrian bb7Bb
Locrian ♮6Bb
Lydian #9E
Lydian Augmented #2G
Lydian b3E
Mixolydian b2F#
Phrygian DominantD#
Phrygian b4D#
Super-Locrian bb7G
Ukrainian DorianC#

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