F Add9
1st PositionCompact voicing on the top four strings — index on B fret 1, middle on G fret 2, ring on D fret 3, pinky on high e fret 3. Spells F, A, C, G with no barre. Mute the low E and A strings.
F Add9
1st Fret (E-shape)E-shape moveable add9 with the root on the low E string at fret 1 — index barres fret 1, ring covers A and D at fret 3, middle on G fret 2, pinky on high e fret 3. A full six-string voicing.
F Add9
8th FretA-shape moveable add9 rooted on F at fret 8 — barre fret 8 with the index, then reach D fret 10, G fret 12, and B fret 10. Mute the low E. Fully moveable to any root.
Skip the barre
If full F barre chords are a struggle, the compact x-x-3-2-1-3 Fadd9 on the top four strings is a friendlier way to get a rich F sound.
Mute the low strings
On the four-string shape, keep the low E and A quiet — strum only from the D string up for a clean, focused chord.
Add the 9th to F major
The G on the high e string is the 9th. Hearing how it brightens a plain F is the best way to internalise the add9 sound.
Use the E-shape
The 1-3-3-2-1-3 E-shape gives you a full six-string Fadd9 and is fully moveable — slide it up two frets for Gadd9.
Move the A-shape
The x-8-10-12-10-8 barre is moveable — slide it down to fret 6 for E♭add9 or up to fret 10 for Gadd9.
About the Fadd9 Chord on Guitar
The Fadd9 chord is built from four notes: F (the root), A (the major 3rd), C (the perfect 5th), and G (the 9th). It is the F major triad with an added 9th and no 7th — bright and open, with a shimmering colour over a firmly major base. F is a notoriously tricky key on guitar because of the barre, but the compact top-four-string Fadd9 sidesteps that, making it a friendly, great-sounding option. This page covers three voicings: a no-barre top-string form, a full E-shape barre, and a moveable A-shape barre. Every diagram is interactive and playable with acoustic guitar sound.
- 013 Fadd9 chord shapes from intermediate to advanced
- 02Interactive diagrams — click Play to hear each chord
- 03Acoustic guitar sound via audio engine
- 04Compact top-string voicing, E-shape barre, and an A-shape moveable form
- 05Difficulty rating on every shape
- 06Free — no sign-up or download needed
ANATOMY
Chord Tones
The 4 notes that form the F Add9 chord and their role in the major scale.
Every add9 chord follows this same formula — root, major third, perfect fifth, and the major 9th added on top (no 7th).