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How to Read Guitar Chord Diagrams
Learn how to read guitar chord diagrams quickly. Understand dots, numbers, Xs, Os, and finger positions so you can play any chord chart at sight.
Amin7(♭9)/C guitar shapes
Popular fretboard positions with fingering suggestions
Showing 8 of 30 playable shapes
About the chord
A minor 7th flat 9th / C (1st inversion)
The A minor 7th flat 9th minor 7th flat 9th chord extends the minor 7th with a flat ninth B♭, creating a dark, eerie tension. The combination of the minor third C, minor seventh G, and flat ninth B♭ produces a dissonant, haunting sound perfect for jazz, film scoring, and dramatic resolutions. With C in the bass, this voicing functions as the 1st inversion of A minor 7th flat 9th.
Root note: A
Bass note: C
Chord tones: 5
Playable shapes: 30
Chord tones
ACEGB♭
Notes & Intervals
Each note below shows how the chord is built from its root. This is the theory layer underneath the fretboard shapes.
A Unison (Root) 1
The root anchors the chord and defines its tonal center.
C Minor Third ♭3
This note supplies the minor color and gives the chord its darker emotional pull.
E Perfect Fifth 5
The fifth reinforces stability and gives the chord its strong harmonic frame.
G Minor Seventh ♭7
The minor seventh adds bluesy or jazzy tension that wants to move onward.
B♭ Minor Ninth ♭9
The flat ninth adds sharper tension and a more dramatic clash.
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