A thirteenth
How to play A13 — Thirteenth
A13 (Thirteenth)A · C♯ · E · G · B · F♯
Guitar samples: Acoustic guitar — University of Iowa (via tonejs-instruments, CC-BY 3.0)
A thirteenth — notes and structure
The A13 chord extends the dominant family up to the thirteenth — rich and funky.
The A13 thirteenth consists of the notes A, C♯, E, G, B, F♯. Its interval structure is R–3–5–7–9–13 — the root, then each chord tone stacked above it. This is the same chord you see in the interactive finder above, drawn on the guitar fretboard with the root circled and every chord tone labelled.
A13 stacks a major third (C♯), a perfect fifth (E), a minor seventh (G), a ninth (B) and a thirteenth (F♯) above the root A.
The finder shows 2 ways to play A13 — an open-position shape reaching up to the 7th fret. 1 of them use a barre.
What key is A13 in?
Every note of A13 belongs to the scales below, so the chord sounds at home in each of these keys — the roman numeral is the degree it sits on.
- D major — the V chord
- B minor — the VII chord
Chords that go with A13
In D major, the chords built on the first, fourth and fifth degrees carry most songs — put A13 next to these:
Frequently asked questions
- What notes are in the A thirteenth chord?
- The A13 chord contains the notes A, C♯, E, G, B, F♯. It extends the dominant family up to the thirteenth — rich and funky.
- How many ways can you play A13 on guitar?
- 2 voicings are shown on this page — from open position up the neck — each with its own fingering diagram and audio.
- Is A13 a hard chord to play?
- Some voicings use a barre, which takes practice, but the chord is very playable once that shape is comfortable.
- What key does A13 belong to?
- A13 fits D major (where it is the V chord), B minor (where it is the VII chord) — every note of the chord is in those scales.