1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.
B13 is a dominant thirteenth chord made of 6 notes: B, D♯, F♯, A, C♯, G♯. 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 E major and turns up in 2 other keys.
The library above opens on B13 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 B | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| B | 1 | root | 0 |
| D♯ | 3 | major third | 4 |
| F♯ | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| A | ♭7 | minor seventh | 10 |
| C♯ | 9 | major ninth | 14 |
| G♯ | 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.
766675797899x2122474644579789770680xEvery full shape of B13 needs a barre or a stretch. In many songs you can also swap in Bmaj7, Bsus2, Bsus4, which share most of its notes and need no barre. If you want the real thing, the fret 5 shape is the gentlest start.
B13 belongs to 3 keys: V in E major, VII in C♯ minor, V7 in E minor. In E major, try I–V–vi–IV: E – B13 – C♯m – A.
B, D♯, F♯, A, C♯, G♯: the root, major third, fifth, minor seventh, ninth, thirteenth.
Fret 5: 766675 (low string first), rated Medium.
B13 has G♯. B13 sounds full and jazzy, the most colourful dominant chord; B9 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 5 shape, rated Medium.