Extended Chords

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Extended Chords feature notes beyond the traditional triads, 7ths, and suspended 2nd/4ths. They are most commonly found in jazz, although some of the less complex ones can be seldomly found in other genres. The chords typically continue along the same route as the triads and 7ths, adding every other note from the root note. Although this goes past the octave, the number assigned to the additional notes continues to increment upwards from 7. For example, G B D F is a Dominant 7th; G B D F A is a Dominant 9th, G B D F A C is a Dominant 11th; and G B D F A C E is a Dominant 13th.

Harmonically, extended chords fall into the same functions as other chords: tonic, pre-dominant, and dominant. They are most commonly used as substitutes for traditional triad or 7th chords, assuming the function of the chord they replace.

Extended chords each have their own flavor, with each voicing having its own sub-flavor. In addition to the interesting sounds they produce, they also serve for voice leading purposes by providing a greater variety of note choices in numerous voices, but particularly the soprano. Often the most extended note of the chord is altered (♭/♯'ed), slyly introducing chromatics into both harmonies and melodies.

Notes on Voicing

Omitting Notes

Extended chords rarely feature all the notes, as that would make them quite dissonant. For example, a "full" 13th chord features every note in the scale. Also, as you can imagine, there are more variations of extended chords than triads or 7ths; as the number of notes in the chord increases, the number of permutations available based on ♭/♯'ed notes increases exponentially. Some permutations simply sound awful and aren't used, or are enharmonic to other chords making them redundant. We will not list those below.

Open Strings

I try to list basically every moveable voicing I can find. In practice, there are a lot more voicings for these chords, as they are often assisted by open string notes. I did not include chords that use open strings since they are specific to one chord, unable to be applied to chords with different root notes. If you are composing or arranging a piece and want to find the most comfortable voicing for a chord, it helps to write down the actual note names of the chord next to the interval relationship of the chord. For example:

Chord	R	M3	P5	m7	M9	A11
C9♯11	C	E	G	B♭	D	F♯
G9♯11	G	B	D	F	A	C♯

For C⁹♯11, the E and G are bolded because these notes can be played using open strings. For G⁹♯11, G, B, D, and A can be played on open strings. Let's find a way to play it. We'll start by adding the open strings, then trying to find the other notes. For the G⁹♯11, using the open A and G strings inverts the chord. For root position, we won't be able to use all the open strings, but we can still take advantage of some of them.

    C9#11              G9#11               G9#11 2
E  o|-|-|-|-|      F  ||i|-|-|-|      F  ||i|-|-|-|    
F#  |-|-|m|-|      B  o|-|-|-|-|      C# ||-|m|-|-|
G  o|-|-|-|-|      A  ||-|m|-|-|      G  o|-|-|-|-|
Bb  |-|-|-|p|      D  o|-|-|-|-|      D  o|-|-|-|-|
D   |i|-|-|-|      C# ||-|-|-|p|      A  o|-|-|-|-|
C   |-|-|-|r|      G  ||-|-|r|-|      G  ||-|-|t|-|
     5                  

That C⁹♯11 still a bit difficult, but if we omit the D (9th), it becomes a very simple voicing. For the G⁹♯11, the chord shape above is pretty easy to play and includes all 6 notes of the chord. Unfortunately, the A11 and P5 are in the same octave, creating a m2 interval. Hence, the G⁹♯11 voicing 2, which avoids any m2 intervals but drops the B (M3) of the chord.

Omission from Arrangement

Extended chords generally apply to Jazz, in which guitar is often accompanied by bass and/or piano. This means the guitar may not be responsible for supplying every note of the chord. For instance, the bass may play the root note (or other bass note for an inversion). This allows the guitar to omit this note from the chord. Piano can take this even further, allowing the guitar to play as little as 2 notes of the chord.

Omitting notes makes fingering simpler and easier. Many of the shapes below that seem too difficult at first may be possible if 1 or 2 notes are omitted. I try to supply the fullest chords that I can, allowing you to omit notes at your discretion.

Avoiding Dissonant Intervals

Unlike triads and some 7ths, extended chords typically have fewer desirable voicings, avoiding highly dissonant intervals such as m2 between notes. As mentioned above, notes are often omitted from the chord voicing to avoid such intervals. Additionally, voicings try to space out "tight" intervals. For example, rather than playing a A4 and a P5 in the same octave (creating a m2 interval), the A4 is played an octave higher as the A11 (producing a M7). Spacing out intervals is more important for the lower strings/frets than the higher ones. As pitch gets higher, our ears tolerate tighter intervals. The highest 3 strings may have stacked m2, M2, m3, and/or M3 intervals, while the lower strings have P5, m7, and M7 intervals, often skipping a string.

Guitar Tone

Because extended chords contain more intervals and thus harmonic complexity than triads and 7ths, they are typically played with an undistorted guitar tone. When distorted guitar wants to play an extended chord, it must often be separated between multiple instruments, or arpeggiated. Otherwise, they can sound very dissonant.

Jazz musicians also typically roll down the tone knob on their guitar to reduce overtones for a darker sound, as well as finger-picking instead of using a plectrum. This allows the complex interactions between the fundamental pitches to be more clearly heard. Remember that guitar is rich in overtones following the harmonic series, which adds not only octaves but P5, M3, and m7 intervals to each note. Since many of the notes in a complex chord form 3rds, 5ths, and 7ths with other notes in the chord and there is a guarantee that around half of them will have differing qualities than the harmonic series, this can lead to extremely dissonant-sounding chords, even with perfect technique, tuning, and intonation.

9ths

R - 3 - (5) - (7) - 9

9th chords typically feature the root, 3rd, 7th, and 9th. Some additionally feature the 5th, while the "add 9" chords omit the 7th.

Dominant 9th

Root⁹ as in C⁹

The Dominant 9th is the most common 9th chord, regularly used to substitute for the Dominant 7th chord. It is the same chord with an added M9. It sounds more dreamy and mellow compared to the twangy, folksy Dominant 7th.

 R - M3 - P5 - m7 - M9
  -M3- -m3- -m3- -M3-
  ---P5---  ---P5---      
       ---tt---
  -----m7------
       ------m7-----
  --------M9--------

Root Position
5 |-|r| 9 |-|r| 7 |-|r| 3 |i|-| 1 |-|m| |-|-|	|-|-| 5 |-|p| 9 |i|-| 7 |)|r| 3 |i|-| 1 |-|m|	9 |-|-|p| 5 |i|-|-| 3 |)|m|-| 7 |i|-|-| 5 |)|-|r| 1 |i|-|-|	|-|-|-|-| 3 |i|-|-|-| 9 |-|-|m|-| 7 |-|-|-|p| |-|-|-|-| 1 |-|-|-|r|

3 |i|-|-|-| 9 |-|-|-|p| 7 |-|-|-|r| |-|-|-|-| 1 |-|-|-|m| |-|-|-|-|

9 |-|r|-| 7 |-|-|p| 3 |i|-|-| 1 |-|m|-| |-|-|-| |-|-|-|

1st Inv	3rd Inv
R |-|p| 5 |-|r| 9 |i|-| 7 |)|m| 3 |i|-| |-|-|	R |-|p| 5 |-|r| 9 |i|-| 7 |-|m| 3 |-|-| |-|-|

Dominant Minor 9th

Root⁷♭9 as in C⁷♭9

The Dominant Minor 9th chord is the Dominant 7th chord, plus a m9. This chord is fairly uncommon. It contains the m2 (m9) and M3 in relation to the root note, implying a whole+half step, placing it outside of the standard major/natural minor scales; however it is diatonic to the harmonic scale, with the root note of the chord occurring on the 6th note of the scale. Most often, the chord will be used in other contexts, using the non-diatonic ♭9th, making this an altered chord for the given key.

The 5th is optional and dropped in some voicings, which eliminates a tritone interval between the 5th and 9th, helping make the chord slightly less dissonant. However, there is still another tritone and the m9 interval in the chord.

 R - M3 - (P5) - m7 - m9
  -M3-(-m3-   -m3-)-m3-
 (---P5---    ---tt---)
       ----tt----
  ------m7-------
       -------d7------
  ---------m9---------

Root Position
5 |-|p| 9 |i|-| 7 |)|r| 3 |i|-| 1 |-|m| |-|-|	9 |i|-|-| 7 |)|-|p| 3 |i|-|-| 1 |-|m|-| |-|-|-| |-|-|-|	9 |-|p| 5 |i|-| 3 |)|r| 7 |i|-| |-|-| 1 |t|-|	|-|-|-|-| 3 |i|-|-|-| 9 |-|m|-|-| 7 |-|-|-|p| |-|-|-|-| 1 |-|-|-|r|	3 |i|-|-|-| 9 |-|-|m|-| 7 |-|-|-|p| |-|-|-|-| 1 |-|-|-|r| |-|-|-|-|

Major 9th

Root ^Δ9 as in C^Δ9

The Major 9th chord is the same as a Major 7th, plus the M9. It takes the dreamy quality of the Major 7th and adds the dreamy quality of a sus2 chord - the result is extra dreamy. It can be used to substitute for tonic and pre-dominant chords, as it is diatonic to the major scale with the 1st or 4th notes as the root, or the natural minor scale with the 3rd or 6th notes as the root.

The 5th is optional, which is pragmatic for fingering purposes as seen below. This drops the pair of perfect 5th intervals between the 5th and the root and M9, which makes the chord less harmonic. However, since there's so much going on anyway, it will not make a big difference.

 R - M3 - (P5) - M7 - M9
  -M3-(-m3-   -M3-)-m3-
 (---P5---    ---P5---)
       ----P5----
  ------M7-------
       -------m7------
  ---------M9---------

Root Position
3 |-|-|-|-|p| 7 |-|-|-|-|p| 5 |-|-|-|-|p| 9 |-|-|-|-|p| 5 |-|-|m|-|-| 1 |i|-|-|-|-|	|-|-|-| 5 |-|r|-| 9 |i|-|-| 7 |)|-|p| 3 |i|-|-| 1 |-|m|-|	|-|-|-| 9 |-|r|-| 7 |-|-|p| 3 |i|-|-| 1 |-|m|-| |-|-|-|

9 |-|r|-|-| 7 |-|-|-|p| 3 |i|-|-|-| 1 |-|m|-|-| |-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|

3 |i|-|-|-| 7 |i|-|-|-| 5 |i|-|-|-| 9 |i|-|-|-| 1 |-|-|-|p| |-|-|-|-|

9 |-|-|p| 5 |i|-|-| 3 |)|r|-| 7 |)|m|-| |)|-|-| 1 |i|-|-|

Minor 9th

Root m⁹ as in Cm⁹

The Minor 9th is the Minor 7th, plus the M9. It is a common chord found to substitute for the Minor 7th.

The 5th is optional, which drops a pair of P5 intervals, making the chord slightly more dissonant, although it will be difficult to hear among the other intervals, as the chord overall has a consonant quality.

R - m3 - (P5) - m7 - M9
 -m3-(-M3-   -m3-)-M3-
(---P5---    ---P5---)
      ----P5----
 ------m7-------
      -------M7------
 ---------M9---------

Root Position
5 |-|-|r| 9 |-|-|r| 7 |-|-|r| 3 |i|-|-| 1 |-|-|m| |-|-|-|	9 |-|-|r|-| 7 |-|-|-|p| 3 |i|-|-|-| 1 |-|-|m|-| |-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|	9 |-|-|p| 5 |i|-|-| 3 |i|-|-| 7 |i|-|-| 5 |)|-|r| 1 |i|-|-|

Augmented 9th

Root⁷+9 as in C⁷+9

Similar to the Dominant 9th, the Augmented 9th extends the Dominant 7th, but rather than adding the M9, it adds an A9 (same as a m3 from root). Thus, it contains both the m3 and M3 intervals in relation to the root note. As crazy and dissonant as that might sound, this chord is used fairly regularly, particularly in blues which makes use of the m3 as a blue note without necessarily abandoning use of the M3. It also appears in jazz as well as rock, being the main chord of Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze. It has an ambiguity to it that allows it to function in a number of roles, but will most commonly be found as the tonic in a Blues (or bluesy) progression.

The 5th is optional, which is pragmatic for fingering as seen below. While this drops the a pair of m3 intervals, the A9 interval is a m3 + an octave anyway. Since this chord has the potential for dissonance, dropping the 5th is recommended to make the chord more consonant and less complex.

R - M3 - (P5) - m7 - A9
 -M3-(-m3-   -m3-)-P4-
(---P5---    ---m6---)
      ----tt----
 ------m7-------
      -------M7------
 ---------A9---------

Root Position
|-|-|-| 9 |-|-|p| 7 |-|r|-| 3 |i|-|-| 1 |-|m|-| |-|-|-|	9 |-|-|p| 7 |-|-|r| 3 |i|-|-| 1 |-|m|-| |-|-|-| |-|-|-|	9 |-|-|-|p| 5 |i|-|-|-| 3 |)|m|-|-| 7 |i|-|-|-| 5 |)|-|r|-| 1 |i|-|-|-|	9 |-|-|-|p| 7 |-|-|-|p| 3 |-|m|-|-| 7 |i|-|-|-| 5 |)|-|r|-| 1 |i|-|-|-|

6/9

Root⁶add9 as in C⁶add9 or C^6/9

You should recognize the 6/9 Chord chord as the "jazz ending" chord. It is fairly complex yet consonant and dreamy, finding a peaceful resolution to a progression. As such it substitutes for tonic.

Unlike other 9th chords, it uses the M6 instead of a 7th; but this can also be interpretted as a d7.

This is the same set of notes as the Major Pentatonic Scale.

R - M3 - P5 - M6 - M9
 -M3- -m3- -M2- -P4-
 ----P5--- ----P5---
     ----P4---
 -----M6------
     -------m7------
 ---------M9--------

Root Position
5 |-|p| 9 |-|r| 6 |i|-| 3 |i|-| 1 |-|m| |-|-|	1 |-|p| 5 |-|r| 9 |i|-| 6 |i|-| 3 |i|-| 1 |-|m|	6 |i|-|-|-| 3 |i|-|-|-| 9 |)|-|r|-| 5 |i|-|-|-| 9 |i|-|-|-| 1 |-|-|-|p|

Major Added 9th

Root add9 as in C add9

The Major Added 9th chord is a standard major triad, plus the M9. It simply takes the dreamy quality of a suspended 2nd, but gives a firm major tonality. It can be used anywhere a sus2 or major triad would work.

R - M3 - P5 - M9
 -M3- -m3- -P5-
 ----P5---
      ----m7---
 ------M9------

Root Position
1 |i|-|-|-|-| 5 |i|-|-|-|-| 3 |)|m|-|-|-| 9 |)|-|-|-|p| 5 |)|-|r|-|-| 1 |i|-|-|-|-|	5 |-|p| 9 |-|r| |-|-| 3 |i|-| 1 |-|m| |-|-|	5 |i|-|-|-|-| 3 |)|-|r|-|-| 9 |)|-|-|-|p| 5 |)|-|m|-|-| 1 |i|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|	9 |-|-|p| 5 |i|-|-| 3 |-|m|-| 1 |-|-|r| |-|-|-| |-|-|-|	|-|-|-|-| 9 |-|-|-|p| 5 |i|-|-|-| 3 |-|-|m|-| 1 |-|-|-|r| |-|-|-|-|

Minor Added 9th

Root m add9 as in Cm add9

The Minor Added 9th chord is a standard minor triad, plus the M9. It simply takes the dreamy quality of a suspended 2nd, but gives a firm minor tonality. It can be used anywhere a sus2 or minor triad would work.

R - m3 - P5 - M9
 -M3- -m3- -P5-
 ----P5---
      ----m7---
 ------M9------

Root Position
1 |i|-|-|-|-| 5 |i|-|-|-|-| 3 |i|-|-|-|-| 9 |)|-|-|-|p| 5 |)|-|m|-|-| 1 |i|-|-|-|-|	5 |-|-|p| 9 |-|-|r| |-|-|-| 3 |i|-|-| 1 |-|-|m| |-|-|-|	5 |i|-|-|-|-| 3 |)|m|-|-|-| 9 |)|-|-|-|p| 5 |)|-|r|-|-| 1 |i|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|

11ths

R - (3) - (5) - 7 - 9 - 11

For diatonic major chord variations, the major 3rd is virtually always omitted due to its dissonant m9 (m2 above the octave) interval with the diatonic 11th. In jazz, the 11th is usually sharped, avoiding the m9.

When the 3rd and 5th are not present, the chord becomes more ambiguous, with the 7th, 9th, and 11th forming a standard triad, with the root note serving as an alternate bass note. For example, C B♭ D F could be either C¹¹ or B♭/C (B♭ major add 9 in 3rd inversion).

11th (Diatonic)

7°/Root as in B°/C when 5th is not present; Root⁹sus4 as in C⁹sus4 when 5th is present

The 7th, 9th, and 11th in this chord are the diatonic notes for the major scale. They form a diminished triad, composed of 2 m3 intervals. This dissonance is somewhat offset by the M7 and M9 harmony against the root note.

This chord is very rare. Since the M3 is not present, it can be considered a 9 sus4 chord. For example, C⁹sus4. C¹¹ refers to a Dominant 11th, while C^Δ11 has the major 7th but also an augmented 11th.

R - [M3] - (P5) - M7 - M9 - P11
 -------M7--------  -m3- -m3-
                    ---d5---
 ----------M2-----------
 -------------P4------------

Root Position
|-|-|-|-| 11 |i|-|-|-| 9 |-|m|-|-| 7 |-|-|-|p| |-|-|-|-| 1 |-|-|r|-|	9 |-|-|p| |-|-|-| 11 |-|-|r| 7 |-|m|-| |-|-|-| 1 |i|-|-|	11 |i|-|-|-| 9 |-|-|r|-| 7 |-|-|-|p| |-|-|-|-| 1 |-|-|m|-| |-|-|-|-|	11 |-|-|-|p| 7 |-|-|r|-| 5 |-|-|m|-| 1 |i|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|	|-|-|-| |-|-|-| 11 |-|-|p| 7 |-|m|-| 5 |-|-|r| 1 |i|-|-|
2nd Inversion
7 |i|-|-|-| 11 |i|-|-|-| 9 |i|-|-|-| 1 |-|-|-|p| 5 |-|-|-|r| |-|-|-|-|	|-|-| 9 |i|-| 7 |)|r| 11 |)|m| 1 |i|-| 5 |i|-|

Dominant 11th

Root¹¹ as in C¹¹

Unlike the Diatonic 11th, the Dominant 11th uses the m7 note from the root. This makes the 7th, 9th, 11th triad a major triad. The root note below creates a suspended type feeling, getting a very dreamy quality to the chord, while it still serves a dominant function.

When used to replace a traditional dominant chord based on the 5th note of the scale, the dominant - tonic progression's voice leading becomes far different. For C Major, this would be G¹¹, which is G (D) F A C. We are missing the M3 of the chord, which would be the leading tone B, and already have the root note C. Notice also, the entire sub-dominant triad built on the 4th note of the scale is present (F A C). Thus, such progressions will be much less tension-relieving than using a dominant triad, 7th, 9th, or 13th.

R - [M3] - (P5) - m7 - M9 - P11
 -------m7--------  -M3- -m3-
                    ---P5---
 ----------M2-----------
 -------------P4------------

Root Position
|-|-|-| 11 |i|-|-| 9 |-|m|-| 7 |-|-|p| |-|-|-| 1 |-|-|r|	11 |i|-|-| 9 |-|-|p| 7 |-|-|r| |-|-|-| 1 |-|-|m| |-|-|-|

Dominant ♯11th (Jazz Dominant 11th)

Root⁹♯11 as in C⁹♯11

The Dominant 11th chord uses the A11 rather than P11, making the interval between the M3 and A11 a M9 rather than a m9, a more harmonious interval, so we incorporate the 3rd into the chord. The M3, along with the root, have a rich interaction on the augmented triad formed by the 7th, 9th, and 11th. It appears very similar to a Dominant 9th, just with a flatted 5th, and functions the same way.

Compared to the dominant 11th, this chord can function more strongly in a dominant - tonic progression when the 11th chord is built upon the 5th note of the scale. For C Major, it would consist of G B F A C♯. The M3 is the leading tone and naturally resolves to the tonic note (B - C). Similarly, the augmented 11th naturally resolves down a half-step to the tonic (C♯ - C). The 7th, 9th, and 11th of the chord are not the diatonic sub-dominant major triad (F A C) like they are in the dominant 11th, but an augmented triad (F A C♯), which frees the chord from feeling like it has slight sub-dominant qualities, and makes it more dissonant, strengthening the resolution of the following tonic chord.

R - M3 - (P5) - m7 - M9 - A11
 -M3- ----tt----  -M3- -M3-
 ------m7-------  ---m6---
      -------m7------       
      ---------M9---------
 ------------tt-----------

Root Position
|-|-| 11 |i|-| 9 |i|-| 7 |)|r| 3 |i|-| 1 |-|m|	11 |i|-| 9 |)|p| 7 |)|r| 3 |i|-| 1 |-|m| |-|-|	|-|-|-| 11 |i|-|-| 3 |-|-|p| 7 |-|r|-| |-|-|-| 1 |-|m|-|

Minor 11th

Root m¹¹ as in Cm¹¹

The minor 11th has a m3, so it avoids the dissonant m9 interval formed between the M3 and P11 in other 11th chords. So we include it here, getting a similar sound to the dominant 11th, but with a minor tonality and more complex interaction from the added note.

R - m3 - (P5) - m7 - M9 - P11
 -m3- ----P5----  -M3- -m3-
 ------m7-------  ---P5---
       -------M7------       
       ---------M2---------
 ------------P4------------

Root Position
|-|-|-| 11 |i|-|-| 9 |)|m|-| 7 |)|-|p| 3 |i|-|-| 1 |-|-|r|	5 |i|-| 3 |)|r| 7 |i|-| 11 |i|-| 1 |i|-| |-|-|	7 |i|-|-| 11 |i|-|-| 3 |)|-|p| 7 |)|-|r| 3 |i|-|-| 1 |-|-|m|	9 |-|-|r| 5 |i|-|-| 3 |i|-|-| 7 |i|-|-| 11 |i|-|-| 1 |i|-|-|	11 |i|-|-| 1 |i|-|-| 7 |)|-|p| 3 |i|-|-| 1 |-|-|r| |-|-|-|

2nd Inversion
7 |i|-|-|-|-| 11 |i|-|-|-|-| 3 |-|-|m|-|-| 1 |-|-|-|-|p| 5 |-|-|-|-|r| |-|-|-|-|-|

Major 11th (Lydian)

Root^Δ11 as in C^Δ11

This chord is also called the Lydian chord because it infers the Lydian mode (major scale with ♯4th). (This is the diatonic 11th chord built upon the 4th note of the major scale (F A E G B in C Major).) This follows the circle of fifths clockwise from the root note, excluding the 4th note (M6) (C G D (A) E B F♯).

R - M3 - (P5) - M7 - M9 - A11
 -M3- ----P5----  -m3- -M3-
 ------M7-------  ---P5---
      -------m7------       
      ---------M2---------
 ------------tt-----------

Root Position
|-|-|-| 11 |i|-|-| 9 |i|-|-| 7 |-|-|r| |-|-|-| 1 |-|m|-|	|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-| 11 |-|-|-|p| 7 |-|m|-|-| 5 |-|-|r|-| 1 |i|-|-|-|	1 |i|-|-|-| 5 |i|-|-|-| 11 |)|-|-|p| 7 |)|m|-|-| |)|-|-|-| 1 |i|-|-|-|	11 |-|-|-|-|p| 7 |-|-|r|-|-| 5 |-|-|m|-|-| 1 |i|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|

11 |i|-|-| 1 |)|r|-| 7 |)|-|p| 3 |i|-|-| 1 |-|m|-| |-|-|-|

9 |-|-|p| 5 |i|-|-| |)|-|-| 7 |)|r|-| 11 |)|m|-| 1 |i|-|-|

2nd Inversion
7 |i|-|-|-| 11 |i|-|-|-| 3 |-|-|m|-| 1 |-|-|-|p| 5 |-|-|-|r| |-|-|-|-|	|-|-| 9 |i|-| 7 |)|r| 11 |)|m| 1 |i|-| 5 |i|-|	1 |i|-|-|-|-| 7 |-|-|-|-|p| 11 |-|-|-|r|-| |-|-|-|-|-| 5 |-|-|m|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|

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13ths

R - 3 - (5) - 7 - (9) - (11) - 13

13ths are typically dominant-function chords, regardless of the exact notes they contain. The 9th and 11th are omitted, with the 3rd and 7th creating the tonality of the chord, with the 13th (6th + 1 octave) extending the harmony, giving a very jazzy vibe. The 13th is almost always a M13.

Dominant 13th

Root¹³ as in C¹³

The most common type of 13th, the Dominant 13th uses the typical dominant chord M3 and m7, plus a M13 (~M6). The M9 is optional, while the P11 is typically omitted. The m7 and M13 form a M7 interval between them, so it's important to space them out in the voicing.

R - M3 - (P5) - m7 - (M9) - (P11) - M13
 -M3- ----tt----  --------M7--------
 ------m7-------
      --------------P4--------------
 ----------------M6-----------------

Root Position
|-|-|-| 13 |-|-|p| 3 |-|r|-| 7 |m|-|-| |-|-|-| 1 |i|-|-|	13 |-|-|p| 3 |-|-|p| 7 |m|-|-| |-|-|-| 1 |i|-|-| |-|-|-|	13 |-|-|-|p| 9 |-|r|-|-| 7 |-|r|-|-| 3 |i|-|-|-| 1 |-|m|-|-| |-|-|-|-|	13 |-|-|p| 3 |-|-|r| 7 |i|-|-| 5 |)|-|m| 1 |i|-|-| |-|-|-|

Minor 13th

Root m¹³ as in Cm¹³

The Minor 13th is the same as the Dominant 13th, but with a m3 instead of M3. This makes the chord have the minor tonality, but it's overall just as consonant as the Dominant 13th.

R - m3 - (P5) - m7 - (M9) - (P11) - M13
 -m3- ----P5----  --------M7--------
 ------m7-------
      --------------tt--------------
 ----------------M6-----------------

Root Position
|-|-|-| 13 |-|-|p| 3 |i|-|-| 7 |i|-|-| 5 |)|-|r| 1 |i|-|-|	13 |-|-|p| 3 |-|m|-| 7 |i|-|-| 5 |)|-|r| 1 |i|-|-| |-|-|-|	13 |-|-|-|-|p| 9 |-|-|r|-|-| 7 |-|-|r|-|-| 3 |i|-|-|-|-| 1 |-|-|m|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|

Major 13th

Root^Δ13 or Root maj¹³ as in C^Δ13 or C maj¹³

The Major 13th is the same as the Dominant 13th, but with a M7 instead of m7. This removes the dominant tonality and function to the chord, as well as making it slightly more consonant. Of course it's still a 13th, so it's quite complex and more tense than a simple major triad.

R - M3 - (P5) - M7 - (M9) - (P11) - M13
 -M3- ----P5----  --------m7--------
 ------M7-------
      --------------P4--------------
 ----------------M6-----------------

Root Position
|-|-|-| 13 |-|-|p| 3 |-|r|-| 7 |-|m|-| |-|-|-| 1 |i|-|-|	13 |-|-|p| 3 |-|-|r| 7 |-|m|-| |-|-|-| 1 |i|-|-| |-|-|-|

Sample Chord Progressions

13ths

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