Chord chart

Cadd9 Chord on Guitar: 3 Easy Ways to Play C Add Nine (Charts)

Cadd9 chord charts with finger numbers, an easier version, the notes and intervals, and the keys and progressions that use it. Also searched as cadd9 chord, cadd9 guitar chord and how to play Cadd9.

By David Sandy, guitar player and founder of Sandy Music Lab. Every chord shape on this page is checked note by note against the chord's formula.

Cadd9 chord diagram, Cadd9 (open)Cadd9 Cadd9 (open): low E muted, A fret 3, D fret 2, G open, B fret 3, high e fret 3.×2134x 3 2 0 3 3
Cadd9 (open)
x 3 2 0 3 3
Cadd9 chord diagram, Open positionCadd9 Open position: low E muted, A fret 3, D open, G open, B fret 3, high e open.×12x 3 0 0 3 0
Open position
x 3 0 0 3 0
Cadd9 chord diagram, Easy 4-string versionCadd9 Easy 4-string version: low E muted, A muted, D fret 10, G fret 9, B fret 8, high e fret 10.8fr××3214x x 10 9 8 10
Easy 4-string version
x x 10 9 8 10

Numbers are fingers (1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky, T thumb). × = don't play that string, ○ = play it open. A long bar is a barre: one finger flat across those strings. Strings run low E (left) to high e (right).

Chord chart by Sandy Music Lab

Quick answer: To play Cadd9 (C add nine) on guitar, play x 3 2 0 3 3 from the low E string to the high e string (the cadd9 (open) shape). The chord contains C, E, G, D. If that is hard, use the easier shape x 3 0 0 3 0, which needs 2 fretted notes.

Cadd9 chord facts

Chord Cadd9 (C add nine)
Other names Cadd2, C(add9)
Notes C, E, G, D
Intervals C (root), E (major 3rd), G (perfect 5th), D (major 9th)
Formula 1-3-5-9
Difficulty Beginner
Shapes on this page 3

How do you play Cadd9 on guitar?

The main shape is x 3 2 0 3 3 (Cadd9 (open)). Finger by finger:

  1. Put your index finger (1) on the D string at fret 2 (E, the major 3rd).
  2. Put your middle finger (2) on the A string at fret 3 (C, the root).
  4. Put your ring finger (3) on the B string at fret 3 (D, the