Guitar UpscaleDominant 13th Chord (13) on guitar
A dominant 13th chord adds the ninth and thirteenth to a dominant 7th chord, a big band and blues favourite.
| Written as | C13 |
|---|---|
| Formula | 1 3 5 b7 9 13 |
| Notes in C13 | C E G Bb D A |
| Semitones from the root | 0, 4, 7, 10, 14, 21 |
About the Dominant 13th Chord
C13 here is C, E, G, Bb, D and A, with the 11th left out.
Blues and swing guitarists play a 13 chord as the last chord of a tune, or slide into it from a fret above.
The usual shape keeps the root, 3rd, flat 7th and 13th.
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
- 9: 9th, 14 semitones above the root
- 13: 13th, 21 semitones above the root
Dominant 13th 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.
C13: C E G Bb D A
G13: G B D F A E
D13: D F# A C E B
A13: A C# E G B F#
E13: E G# B D F# C#
B13: B D# F# A C# G#
F#13: F# A# C# E G# D#
Db13: Db F Ab Cb Eb Bb
Ab13: Ab C Eb Gb Bb F
Eb13: Eb G Bb Db F C
Bb13: Bb D F Ab C G
F13: F A C Eb G D
Scales to play over C13
Each of these scales, started on the root of C13, holds every note of the chord:
- C Mixolydian Mode
- C Taishikicho scale
- C Bebop Minor scale
- C Bebop Dominant scale
- C Overtone scale
- C Ten Tone Dominant scale