A dominant thirteenth

A13

Also written A7(13) · Adom13

NotesA · C♯ · E · G · B · F♯
Formula1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7 · 9 · 13
A1E5G♭7B9C♯3F♯13
All its notes, from the root

The dominant 13th: 1–3–♭7–9–13, with the 5th and the 11th usually left out. V of D major. In a rootless voicing the 13th (F♯) stands where the 5th would be — that one note is the whole difference between A9 and A13.

How pianists voice A13

Nobody plays a jazz chord in root position. These are the shapes that actually get played — the same ones Cadenza shows when you play the chord.

Shell Left hand

A1G♭7C♯3

1 · 3 · ♭7 — root, 3rd and 7th: the three notes that say what the chord is. Left hand, low; everything else is colour.

Rootless A From the 3rd

G♭7B9C♯3F♯13

3 · 13 · ♭7 · 9 — no root: the bass player has it. The left-hand voicing of modern jazz piano.

Rootless B From the 7th

G♭7B9C♯3F♯13

♭7 · 9 · 3 · 13 — the other half of the pair. A and B alternate through a ii–V–I so the hand barely moves. Without A underneath, the same keys read as Gmaj7(♯11) — the bass turns them into A13.

Drop 2 Two hands

A1G♭7F♯13C♯3

13 · 1 · 3 · ♭7 — close position with the second voice from the top dropped an octave: wider, warmer, the standard for chord melody.

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