1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.
C♯13 (also written D♭13) is a dominant thirteenth chord made of 6 notes: C♯, E♯, G♯, B, D♯, A♯. 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 F♯ major and turns up in 2 other keys.
The library above opens on C♯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 C♯ | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| C♯ | 1 | root | 0 |
| E♯ | 3 | major third | 4 |
| G♯ | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| B | ♭7 | minor seventh | 10 |
| D♯ | 9 | major ninth | 14 |
| A♯ | 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, D♭13 is D♭, F, A♭, C♭, E♭, B♭: the same sounds under different names.
x4330xx413019888979(11)9(10)(11)(11)x43446968667Every full shape of C♯13 needs a barre or a stretch. In many songs you can also swap in C♯maj7, C♯sus2, C♯sus4, which share most of its notes and need no barre. If you want the real thing, the fret 7 shape is the gentlest start.
C♯13 belongs to 3 keys: V in F♯ major, VII in E♭ minor, V7 in F♯ minor. In F♯ major, try I–V–vi–IV: F♯ – C♯13 – D♯m – B.
C♯, E♯, G♯, B, D♯, A♯: the root, major third, fifth, minor seventh, ninth, thirteenth.
Fret 7: 988897 (low string first), rated Medium.
C♯13 has A♯. C♯13 sounds full and jazzy, the most colourful dominant chord; C♯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 7 shape, rated Medium.