Minor 13th Chord (m13) on guitar

A minor 13th chord holds every note of the Dorian mode, a rich minor sound.

About the Minor 13th Chord

Am13 is A, C, E, G, B, D and F#. With all seven notes it is the whole Dorian scale in one chord.

On a minor chord the 11th sounds fine, so this chord keeps it.

A guitar has six strings, so the shapes below drop the 5th.

Intervals

• 1: Root, 0 semitones above the root
• b3: Minor 3rd, 3 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
• 11: 11th, 17 semitones above the root
• 13: 13th, 21 semitones above the root

Minor 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.

Scales to play over Cm13

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

• C Dorian Mode
• C Adonai Malakh
• C Bebop Minor (Bebop Dorian)

More chord types

• Major 13th Chord (maj13)
• Dominant 13th Chord (13)
• All chord types