Left-handed Bbm9 diagram
Vertical: high e on the left, nut at the top. Horizontal: high e at the top, nut on the right. X = silent, O = open. Dot numbers are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little. A thick line joins notes held with one finger as a barre.
Fret and finger guide
Both codes read from low E to high e, regardless of the diagram view.
- Frets
x · 13 · 11 · 13 · 13 · 13- Fingers
- – · 2 · 1 · 3 · 3 · 3
- Level
- Advanced (this fingering)
Make a clean Bbm9 chord
Pick only the sounding strings. Keep X-marked strings silent, place each finger just behind its fret wire, and release pressure between attempts.
- Place one finger at a time, just behind the fret wire.
- Pick each sounding string slowly. Adjust any finger that mutes its neighbour.
- Release pressure, then make the shape again. Aim for a relaxed hand.
- Strum four beats, rest for four, then repeat. Rest if your hand becomes tired; stop if you feel pain.
More fingering ideas
Compare the alternative voicing and choose the position that sounds clear without straining your hand.
Fret codes are written low E to high e. An x means leave that string silent.
Practise chord changes with a metronome →Bbm9 notes and chord formula
A minor ninth adds a ninth to a minor seventh chord. Keep the minor third and flat seventh clear, and compare the colour with the simpler minor triad.
- Formula
- 1 – b3 – 5 – b7 – 9
- Chord notes
- Bb – Db – F – Ab – C
This shape contains every degree of the chord formula.
How to read chord diagrams · Build a comfortable barre · Connect chord shapes with CAGED
Need a term explained? Chord names and formulas → · Flat fifths and other intervals →