13b9 Chord on guitar

A 13b9 chord is a dominant 13th chord with a flat ninth, a jazz dominant with tension and sweetness at once.

About the 13b9 Chord

C13b9 is C, E, G, Bb, Db and A.

The half whole diminished scale fits over it, since it holds both the flat 9th and the 13th.

Use it as a V chord before a major chord.

Intervals

• 1: Root, 0 semitones above the root
• 3: Major 3rd, 4 semitones above the root
• 5: Perfect 5th, 7 semitones above the root
• b7: Minor 7th, 10 semitones above the root
• b9: Flat 9th, 13 semitones above the root
• 13: 13th, 21 semitones above the root

13b9 Chord charts in all 12 keys

Each chart shows the strings from the thick low E on the left to the thin high e on the right. Numbers in the dots are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little, T thumb. × marks a muted string and ○ an open one. A bar across strings is a barre.

Scales to play over C13b9

Each of these scales, started on C, holds every note of the chord:

• C Diminished (Half Whole)

More chord types

• 13#11 Chord
• 13#9 Chord
• All chord types