Jimi Hendrix Chord – E7#9 Guitar Chord Lesson

The E7#9 guitar chord was the main sound of Jimi Hendrix. Songs such as Purple Haze and Voodoo Child feature this chord well, and nearly all his songs feature this chord shape in some key, usually played as a thumbed chord! Check it out:

The notes in an E7#9 chord are E (root note), G# (major 3rd), D (dominant 7th) and G (#9). First you’ll learn the main shape played at the 7th fret, starting at the A string:
Jimi Hendrix chord

Of course, the low and high E strings can be included for this E chord, since they are the root notes! However, the video shows that this doesn’t work well when you move this shape around and out of the key of E! Next, you will learn this 7#9 chord with a root note on the E string, starting in the key of G and then moving the shape up into the key of A. These chord shapes are a great way to add a funky sound to your playing when you strum the high notes with an accent, as shown in the tutorial.

G7#9 guitar chord:
G7#9 guitar chord
A7#9 guitar chord:
A7#9 guitar chord

The main challenge with playing these type of guitar chords is to be able to reach your pinky finger to the B and e strings, while holding the lower octave shape with your thumb and ring fingers. The final shape we learn is the open variation of this thumbed chord, in the key of E of course!

E7#9 open chord:
E7#9 open chord

So have fun playing these chords and remember to add that funky psychedelic sound by trying picking variations of playing the lower octave parts, followed by quick stabs from the high strings, which are containing your #9 and dom7 notes! You can also get a free chord book when you sign up here!