1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.
E♭13 (also written D♯13) is a dominant thirteenth chord made of 6 notes: E♭, G, B♭, D♭, F, C. 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 A♭ major and turns up in 2 other keys.
The library above opens on E♭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 E♭ | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| E♭ | 1 | root | 0 |
| G | 3 | major third | 4 |
| B♭ | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| D♭ | ♭7 | minor seventh | 10 |
| F | 9 | major ninth | 14 |
| C | 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.
(11)(10)(10)(10)(11)9(11)(13)(11)(12)(13)(13)x65668(11)8(10)889(11)(13)(11)(12)(13)(11)(11)(10)(11)(10)(13)xEvery full shape of E♭13 needs a barre or a stretch. In many songs you can also swap in E♭maj7, E♭sus2, E♭sus4, which share most of its notes and need no barre. If you want the real thing, the fret 9 shape is the gentlest start.
E♭13 belongs to 3 keys: V in A♭ major, VII in F minor, V7 in G♯ minor. In A♭ major, try I–V–vi–IV: A♭ – E♭13 – Fm – D♭.
E♭, G, B♭, D♭, F, C: the root, major third, fifth, minor seventh, ninth, thirteenth.
Fret 9: (11)(10)(10)(10)(11)9 (low string first), rated Medium.
E♭13 has C. E♭13 sounds full and jazzy, the most colourful dominant chord; E♭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 9 shape, rated Medium.