C seventh, sharp nine, flat thirteen

C7(♯9♭13)

Also written C7alt (often) · C7#9b13

NotesC · E · G · B♭ · D♯ · A♭
Formula1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7 · ♯9 · ♭13
C1E3G5B♭♭7D♯♯9A♭♭13
All its notes, from the root

The altered sound in its most common form: ♯9 (D♯) and ♭13 (A♭) over the 3rd and ♭7. Charts often write it simply as C7alt. V of F minor.

How pianists voice C7(♯9♭13)

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

C1E3B♭♭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

E3A♭♭13B♭♭7D♯♯9

3 · ♭13 · ♭7 · ♯9 — no root: the bass player has it. The left-hand voicing of modern jazz piano. Without C underneath, the same keys read as Emaj7(♯11) — the bass turns them into C7(♯9♭13).

Rootless B From the 7th

E3B♭♭7D♯♯9A♭♭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.

Drop 2 Two hands

C1E3A♭♭13B♭♭7

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

Upper structure ♭VI Triad over shell

C1E3C1B♭♭7D♯♯9A♭♭13

1 · 3 · ♭7 · 1 · ♯9 · ♭13 — an A♭ major triad in the right hand (♭13, root and ♯9) over the root, 3rd and ♭7 in the left. One familiar shape, all the tension.

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