A major thirteenth

Amaj13

Also written AM13 · AΔ13

NotesA · C♯ · E · G♯ · B · F♯
Formula1 · 3 · 5 · 7 · 9 · 13
A1E5B9C♯3G♯7F♯13
All its notes, from the root

The major 7th with 9 and 13 added: every note of A major except the 4th, which would clash with the 3rd. A tonic — the fullest one there is.

How pianists voice Amaj13

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

A1C♯3G♯7

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

B9C♯3F♯13G♯7

3 · 13 · 7 · 9 — no root: the bass player has it. The left-hand voicing of modern jazz piano. Without A underneath, the same keys read as D♭7sus4 — the bass turns them into Amaj13.

Rootless B From the 7th

B9G♯7C♯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 G♯m11 — the bass turns them into Amaj13.

Drop 2 Two hands

A1F♯13C♯3G♯7

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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