D♭9

D♭1F3A♭5C♭♭7E♭9

A dominant seventh carrying a ninth on top.

Written the other way round it is C♯9 — the same twelve keys on a piano, a different piece of notation.

on ukulele on piano the scale

Every fingering that fits a hand

Fig. 2

x41101

hard

Fig. 3

x41401

hard · no 5

Fig. 4

x4344x

hard · no 5

Fig. 5

9b9a9b

hard · barre

Fig. 6

9898xx

hard · no 5

What is true of it

D♭9 is D♭, F, A♭, C♭ and E♭ — 1, 3, 5, b7 and 9 counted from D♭.

On an instrument that cannot reach all 5, the 5 and 1 go first, in that order.

The easiest of the 5 fingerings below is x41101: 4 fingers, held at the 1st fret.

None of them uses an open string, so this chord moves up the neck unchanged — the same shape 1 fret higher is the chord a semitone above.

1 of the 5 need a barre.

1 string stays silent.

Where its notes are on the neck

Fig. 7 — first 12 frets

The brass dots are D♭, the root. Everything else is a chord tone with its degree printed in it.

With a different note underneath

first inversion

D♭9/F

121121

second inversion

D♭9/A♭

46360x

third inversion

D♭9/C♭

x21101

An inversion is the same chord with a different note lowest. The name changes to a slash name because the bass is what a listener hears as the foundation.

D♭ in other shapes

D♭add9added ninth D♭maj9major ninth D♭m9minor ninth D♭major D♭mminor D♭dimdiminished

C9 D9 D♯9 E♭9 E9 F9 F♯9 G♭9 all 374