Arpeggio quality

9

The dominant ninth adds a ninth to the dominant seventh, rounding the tritone's bite with a bright top note. The chord still functions as a dominant and still wants to resolve, but the ninth gives it a polished, urban sheen — the sound of funk rhythm guitar, soul horn sections and jazz-blues comping. Because the ninth is consonant against the major third and the seventh, it can sit high in the voicing without clashing. Players often drop the fifth, since the ninth and third already define the colour. Arpeggiated, it is a five-note trip through the upper structure. Listen for the ninth softening the resolution without removing the pull.