C Dominant 9th Flat Fifth

Symbols:C9b5
Scale Degree Formula:1-3-♭5-♭7-9
Interval Stack:M3 + M2 + M3 + M3
Notes:C, E, F#, Bb, 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:
C1C#♭2D2D#♭3E3F4F#♭5G5G##5A6Bb♭7B7C8C#♭9D9M3M2M3M3

Similar Chords

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

Chord TypeChords
Dominant 7th Flat FifthF#7b5, C7b5
Dominant 7th Flat Five Flat 9thF#7b5b9, C7b5b9
Dominant 7th Flat ThirteenthF#7b13, D7b13
Dominant 7th Sharp FifthF#7#5, D7#5
Dominant 7th Sharp Five Flat 9thF#7#5b9, D7#5b9
Dominant 7th Sharp Five Sharp 9thF#7#5#9, D7#5#9
Dominant 9thD9, C9
Dominant 9th Flat ThirteenthD9b13
Dominant 9th Sharp FifthG#9#5, F#9#5, E9#5, D9#5, C9#5, Bb9#5
Major 9th Flat FifthCMaj9b5, BbMaj9b5
Minor 9th Flat FifthEm9b5, Cm9b5

Associated Scales

This chord can be found in the following scales.

ScaleRoots

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