1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.
A♭13 (also written G♯13) is a dominant thirteenth chord made of 6 notes: A♭, C, E♭, G♭, B♭, F. It sounds full and jazzy, the most colourful dominant chord, and you hear it in jazz, blues and big-band endings. It is the V chord of D♭ major and turns up in 2 other keys.
The library above opens on A♭13 with 14 shapes up and down the neck. Tap a shape to hear it, or play it one string at a time.
| Note | Degree | Interval from A♭ | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| A♭ | 1 | root | 0 |
| C | 3 | major third | 4 |
| E♭ | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| G♭ | ♭7 | minor seventh | 10 |
| B♭ | 9 | major ninth | 14 |
| F | 13 | major thirteenth | 21 |
Formula: 1 – 3 – 5 – ♭7 – 9 – 13. On guitar the 5th is often left out of the bigger shapes without changing the chord. With the other spelling, G♯13 is G♯, B♯, D♯, F♯, A♯, E♯: the same sounds under different names.
43334246456646456443436x434111x(11)(10)(11)(11)(13)Every full shape of A♭13 needs a barre or a stretch. In many songs you can also swap in A♭maj7, A♭sus2, A♭sus4, which share most of its notes and need no barre. If you want the real thing, the fret 2 shape is the gentlest start.
A♭13 belongs to 3 keys: V in D♭ major, V7 in C♯ minor, VII in B♭ minor. In D♭ major, try I–V–vi–IV: D♭ – A♭13 – B♭m – G♭.
A♭, C, E♭, G♭, B♭, F: the root, major third, fifth, minor seventh, ninth, thirteenth.
Fret 2: 433342 (low string first), rated Medium.
A♭13 has F. A♭13 sounds full and jazzy, the most colourful dominant chord; A♭9 sounds funky and full, a seventh chord with more colour.
It needs a stretch in every shape, so it takes some practice. Start with the fret 2 shape, rated Medium.