Minor 13th chords

The Minor 13th (m13) chord is theoretically a seven-note chord, but is played with one or more notes omitted on the guitar. The sound character of the minor 13th is a little dissonant – the 13th note is outside the relevant minor scale – and therefore it's not always a fitting substitute for minor 7th and minor 9th. Instead, it's function is closer to that of a dim and aug chords, often used as an in-between chord.

There are different many versions of this chord possible on the guitar, but it's common to exclude one or more of the following: the fifth, the seventh, ninth and eleventh.

m13 (movable shape)

Cm13

  • Cm13 chord diagram

Dm13

  • Dm13 chord diagram

Em13

  • Em13 chord diagram X7X789

Fm13

  • Fm13 chord diagram

Gm13

  • Gm13 chord diagram X 10 X 10 11 12

Am13

  • Am13 chord diagram

Bm13

  • Bm13 chord diagram

Alt. shape

  • Minor 13th chord shape

Comments

The first shape has the root on the 5th string. The fifth, the ninth and the eleventh are omitted.

The alternative shape is played with the root on the 6th string, for Am13 the short notation is 575575. The ninth and the eleventh are omitted.

Minor 13th with flats and sharps

Additional chords in this category:

C sharp / D flat m13: X4X456
D sharp / E flat m13: X6X678
F sharp / G flat m13: 242242
G sharp / A flat m13: 464464
A sharp / B flat m13: X1X123

Open minor 13 chords

Em13

  • Em13 chord diagram

F#m13

  • F#m13 chord diagram

Am13

  • Am13 chord diagram

Am13 (alt.)

  • Am13 chord diagram

Comments

The F#m13 is more correctly written as F#m13/E. The keys that has been left out has no good options for being played in open position.

Chord structure

The minor thirteenth is built with the formula 1-b3-5-b7-9-11-13 (root, minor 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th, major 9th, perfect 11th and major 13th).

Chord construction

Cm13  x - C - x - Bb - Eb - A
Dm13  x - D - x - C - F - B
Em13  x - E - x - D - G - C#
Fm13  x - F - x - Eb - Ab - D
Gm13  x - G - x - F - Bb - E
Am13  x - A - x - G - C - F#
Bm13  x - B - x - A - D - G#
Guitar versions of the chord

Notes in chord

Cm13  C - Eb - G - Bb - D - F - A
Dm13  D - F - A - C - E - G - B
Em13  E - G - B - D - F# - A - C#
Fm13  F - Ab - C - Eb - G - Bb - D
Gm13  G - Bb - D - F - A - C - E
Am13  A - C - E - G - B - D - F#
Bm13  B - D - F# - A - C# - E - G#
The intervals are 1 - b3 - 5 - b7 - 9 - 11 - 13

Minor 13th chord inversions

A minor 13th chord can be played in numerous configurations, including six inversions (it's also common to combine inversions with omitted notes for this chord type).

C minor 13th can be used as an example:

  • C - Eb - G - Bb - D - F - A (root position)
  • Eb - C - G - Bb - D - F - A (1st inversion)
  • G - C - Eb - Bb - D - F - A (2nd inversion)
  • Bb - C - Eb - G - D - F - A (3rd inversion)
  • D - C - Eb - G - Bb - F - A (4th inversion)
  • F - C - Eb - G - Bb - D - A (5th inversion)
  • A - C - Eb - G - Bb - D - F (6th inversion)

To indicate that a chord is played inverted it is written with slash sign before the bass note. For example, the first inversion of the Cm13 chord is written Cm13/Eb. Some examples follow below in short notation:

Cm13/F: 10101X
Cm13/G: 311211
Dm13/E: 020211
Dm13/C: X30201
Dm13/B: X20211
Em13/G: 300420
Em13/B: X020020
Fm13/Eb: X66766
Gm13/Bb: X13010
Gm13/F: 110010
Am13/E: 000012
Am13/G: 300012
Bm13/F#: 200100
Bm13/G#: 404430

For more chord diagrams, see The Chord Reference ebook.

Chord progressions

Examples of progressions including minor 13th:

Am13 - Em9 - Gmaj7

Bm13 - E11 - Amaj13


The second progression is thought to be used in a jazz context.

Minor 13th chords work as ii, but not as iii and vi chords (atonal). So, for example, in the C major key, Dm13 is a (diatonic) option. This circumstances are the reason for this chord category being quite seldom used.

Back to chord types

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