Chords and Their Written Symbols

Harmony - Chords and Their Symbols Pt.2 - 2

This lesson has been revised and published in THE INFINITE GUITAR. Info >>>

Putting 9th and 11th chords into practice

Keeping things simple - Notice how I've kept things simple in the following exercise by voicing all the chords with only four notes each. Most of the chords simply include the root, 3rd, 7th and the extension designated in the chord symbol. As I stated in pt.1, 5ths don't count for much so you are free to leave them out if they are not altered.

13th chords

The biggest chord available - 13th chords technically can contain every scale tone, but since there are seven scale tones in the major scale and only six strings on the guitar, it is a physical impossibility. There are certain choices that have to be made when playing 13th chords. 9ths and 11th can be left out and as I said before, the 5th isn't really necessary. If a bassist is present, you definitely don't need a root in the voicing. If you where to leave out the 7th, what you would get is a 6th chord. The most important notes are the 3rd, 7th, and 13th. As with our other major and dominant family chords, when the major 3rd is present, the 4th generally gets raised to a #11th (if you choose to include it in the chord). If you eliminate the 3rd and leave in the natural 4th, the chord will become a sus chord as in C13sus.

These are some sixth string root voicings for major, minor and dominant 13th chords:


voicing: 1,7,9,3,13	voicing: 1,b7,b3,13,1	voicing: 1,b7,3,13,1	voicing: 1,b7,4,13,1

Points to remember about 13th chords:

For the major and dominant versions, when the 3rd is desired in the voicing, the 11th tends to be raised.

The 9th and #11th do not need to be included in the voicing but the 7th and 3rd do. Without the 7th included in the voicing the chord is considered a 6th chord.

13th chords from the half/whole step diminished scale

Dominant 13th chord with altered 9ths - The 13#9 and 13b9 chords are the chords derived from the symmetrical scale know as the half/whole diminished scale. Unlike the altered dominant chords created by the altered mode of the melodic minor scale, the chords made from the half/whole diminished scale contain a natural 13th and an unaltered 5th. They generally resolve the same way altered chords do, to the I chord. Because of the symmetrical structure of the diminished scale, the upper chord shapes can be moved up or down in min3rds to create other dominant chords:

Six string root voicings for the 13#9 and 13b9 chords:


voicing: 1,b7,3,13,#9	voicing: 1,b7,3,13,b9

Points to remember about 13th chords derived from the half/whole diminished scale:

The #11th can also be though of as a b5th so sometimes the 13#11 chord shows up as a 13b5 chord in a chart, as in C13b5. Some possible chord symbols from this chord family: C13b9, C13#9, C13(b5,#9), C13(b5,b9), C13(b9,#11), C13(#9,#11), etc..

Just remember: we've traded our #5th for a 13th.

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