A add9 Chord on Mountain Dulcimer

The A add9 chord is an added-ninth chord that layers in a ninth without the seventh for an open, modern sound. It is built from the notes A, B, C#, E. This page shows how to play A add9 on Mountain Dulcimer with clear fretboard diagrams and suggested finger positions.

The lowest shape sits at fret 5 and spans 4 frets, with no open strings in it. The root is the A string itself. It sounds from B3 up to C#5.

Mountain Dulcimer is tuned D–A–D, with frets 1 to 17 laid out diatonically plus the 6+ and 13+ frets — D#, F and A# sound nowhere on it. Only the chords and notes its diatonic frets reach are charted, and the 6+ fret (between 6 and 7) counts as a fret of its own.

Browse alternate voicings to find the one that sits best under your fingers, then compare it with the other chord types built on A or explore the same shape in nearby keys. The diagrams list the notes in each voicing so you can connect the shape to the theory behind it.