Guitar chords · Dominant 13th
C13 chord on guitar
C13 (C The 5th degree of a key and the chord on it (V). It creates tension that wants to resolve home to the tonic. 13th) has six notes: C, E, G, B♭, D and A, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., 3, 5, ♭7, 9 and 13.
Shapes
How to play C13
Strum a shape to hear it, or pick it one string at a time. R marks the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7.; the other numbers are the chord tones.
C13 has no common A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em.. Play it as the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 3 or the E shape at fret 8. A A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major. keeps its fingering anywhere on the neck: slide it up or down and the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., on the lowest played string, names the chord.
A shape · fret 3
E shape · fret 8
Notes and formula
What makes C13 dominant 13th
A The 5th degree of a key and the chord on it (V). It creates tension that wants to resolve home to the tonic. 13th chord stacks the 13th (the 6th, an The distance of twelve half steps, where a note comes round to the same name. Twelve frets up a string is an octave. up) on a A major chord with a minor 7th added, such as G7. It is the V7 of a key and pulls strongly to the I chord. chord. Guitarists play the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., 3rd, ♭7th and 13th: the 5th and 9th are optional, and the 11th is left out because it clashes with the 3rd. It is a rich dominant heard in jazz, blues and funk.
- 1Root: the note the chord is named after. Keep it.
- 3Essential: makes the chord what it is. Never drop it.
- 5Optional: drop it first when you run out of fingers.
- 11Left out: players skip it because it clashes.
The 3rd, the ♭7th and the 13th make C13 a The 5th degree of a key and the chord on it (V). It creates tension that wants to resolve home to the tonic. 13th chord; you can leave out the 5th and the 9th. The 11th is left out: it clashes with the 3rd.
- CRroot
- E3essential
- G5optional
- B♭♭7essential
- D9optional
- A13essential
- C, the root
- Other chord tones
C13 usually resolves to F or Fm, the chord a 5th below: the V13–I move.
Keys
Keys with C13
C13 belongs to two keys: F major (V13) and D minor (VII13).
Numerals follow the key's own scale, so III, VI and VII in a minor key are its own major chords. A ♭ or ♯ in front marks a chord from outside the key. How Roman numerals work
Slash chords
C13 over another bass note
A A chord with a different note in the bass, written after a slash: C/E is a C chord with E as its lowest note. The letter after the slash is the bass. keeps C13 on top and puts another note in the bass: the letter after the slash is the lowest note you play.
- C13/E
C13 with its 3rd, E, in the bass.
- C13/G
C13 with its 5th, G, in the bass.
- C13/B♭
C13 with its ♭7th, B♭, in the bass.
Same root
Other chords on C
Change one or two notes and the same The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7. gives a different colour. Compare them by ear.
- C major
- Cm minor
- C7 dominant 7th
- Cmaj7 major 7th
- Cm7 minor 7th
- Csus2 suspended 2nd
- Csus4 suspended 4th
- C6 major 6th
- Cm6 minor 6th
- Cadd9 add 9
- C9 dominant 9th
- Cmaj9 major 9th
- Cm9 minor 9th
- Cmaj13 major 13th
- Cm11 minor 11th
- C° diminished
- Cm7♭5 half-diminished 7th
- C°7 diminished 7th
- C+ augmented
- C5 power chord
- C7sus4 dominant 7th suspended 4th
- Cm(maj7) minor major 7th
- C6/9 six-nine
- Cm(add9) minor add 9
- C7♯9 dominant 7th sharp 9th
Questions
C13, in short
- What notes are in the C13 chord?
- C13 (C The 5th degree of a key and the chord on it (V). It creates tension that wants to resolve home to the tonic. 13th) has six notes: C, E, G, B♭, D and A, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., 3, 5, ♭7, 9 and 13.
- How do you play C13 on guitar?
- C13 has no common A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em.. Play it as the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 3 or the E shape at fret 8.
- What key is C13 in?
- C13 belongs to two keys: F major (V13) and D minor (VII13).