F thirteenth
How to play F13 — Thirteenth
F13 (Thirteenth)F · A · C · E♭ · G · D
Guitar samples: Acoustic guitar — University of Iowa (via tonejs-instruments, CC-BY 3.0)
F thirteenth — notes and structure
The F13 chord extends the dominant family up to the thirteenth — rich and funky.
The F13 thirteenth consists of the notes F, A, C, E♭, G, D. 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.
F13 stacks a major third (A), a perfect fifth (C), a minor seventh (E♭), a ninth (G) and a thirteenth (D) above the root F.
The finder shows 2 ways to play F13 — an open-position shape reaching up to the 13th fret. They use a barre.
What key is F13 in?
Every note of F13 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.
- B♭ major — the V chord
- G minor — the VII chord
Chords that go with F13
In B♭ major, the chords built on the first, fourth and fifth degrees carry most songs — put F13 next to these:
Frequently asked questions
- What notes are in the F thirteenth chord?
- The F13 chord contains the notes F, A, C, E♭, G, D. It extends the dominant family up to the thirteenth — rich and funky.
- How many ways can you play F13 on guitar?
- 2 voicings are shown on this page — from open position up the neck — each with its own fingering diagram and audio.
- Is F13 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 F13 belong to?
- F13 fits B♭ major (where it is the V chord), G minor (where it is the VII chord) — every note of the chord is in those scales.