Bb13 guitar chord
The standard grips this chord is usually shown with.
- Tap a note to hear it
- Arrows change position
- Fingers, notes or intervals
- Play the chord
About Bb13 — root position
Bb13 is Bb, D, F, Ab, C and G — Bb9 with the thirteenth added on top.
It sounds big and open. Big-band and gospel comping reach for it wherever a plain 7 would sound bare.
Dominant — the full V chord.
Bb13 notes and formula
| Bb | D | F | Ab | C | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 5 | ♭7 | 9 | 13 |
Also written Bbdom13 or Bb dominant 13. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Bb13
Bb13 in root position puts Bb in the bass, which is the chord as it is spelled: the note it is named after underneath everything else.
8 of Bb13’s 10 common shapes do this:x10133635334650044655564666788686786x-13-12-13-15-15x-13-12-13-13-15
Play Bb13 as a shell — root, third and seventh — and the spare string takes the #11 (E).
All 10 common shapes as fret numbers, lowest string first. Hover or tap one to see it drawn.
- x10133, open position, Bb, root position, top note G, 1 open string
- 111133, 1st fret, F, 2nd inversion, top note G, barred
- 635334, 3rd fret, Bb, root position, top note Ab, barred
- 650044, open position, Bb, root position, top note Ab, 2 open strings
- 655564, 4th fret, Bb, root position, top note Ab, barred
- 666788, 6th fret, Bb, root position, top note C, barred
- 686786, 6th fret, Bb, root position, top note Bb, barred
- x-13-12-13-15-15, 12th fret, Bb, root position, top note G, all fretted
- x-13-12-13-13-15, 12th fret, Bb, root position, top note G, barred
- 13-13-13-13-15-15, 13th fret, F, 2nd inversion, top note G, barred
How to use Bb13
Bb13 is the V of Eb, and that is where it goes if it goes anywhere: the third and the flat seventh are a tritone apart, and both resolve by a semitone into Eb.
In a phrase:Fm7→Bb13→Ebmaj7— the ii–V–I of Eb.
Voice by voice, Bb13 → Eb. 2 voices move by a semitone, and 2 notes are common to both chords.
| In Bb13 | Moves | In Eb |
|---|---|---|
| Bb, the root | stays where it is | Bb, the fifth |
| D, the major third | rises a semitone | Eb, the root |
| F, the fifth | falls a whole tone | Eb, the root |
| Ab, the flat seventh | falls a semitone | G, the major third |
| C, the ninth | falls a whole tone | Bb, the fifth |
| G, the thirteenth | stays where it is | G, the major third |
In which keys. Every note of Bb13 belongs to C minor (the ♭VII) and Eb major (the V, the dominant).
What to play over Bb13
Every note of Bb13 is in Bb mixolydian and Bb lydian dominant.
Chords near Bb13
Change one note of Bb13 and you have Bbmaj13 (the flat seventh becomes the major seventh), Bb69 (drop the flat seventh), Bb9 (drop the thirteenth) or Bb9#11 (the thirteenth becomes the sharp eleventh).
Bb13 is a dominant chord — root, major third, fifth, minor seventh. Dominant seventh chords on every root.
The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in how this site is built.