Lesson 52 · All 12 keys

Dominant 13sus4 Chord Trainer

Learn how a Dominant 13sus4 chord is built one semitone-count at a time — a dominant 9sus4 chord (Lesson 51) with a 13th stacked on top — then put it to work with three MIDI exercises: playing all 12 dominant 13sus4 chords around the circle of fourths, and 5 jazz plus 5 gospel chord progressions that show off its color, in every key.

How a Dominant 13sus4 chord is built

A Dominant 13sus4 chord — written 13sus4 (e.g. C13sus4) — is a 6-note chord: a dominant 9sus4 chord (Lesson 51) with a 13th stacked on top. Every 13sus4 chord — in any of the 12 keys — is built the exact same way, by counting semitones to the right from a root note:

  1. The starting note — this note names the chord.
  2. Count 5 semitones up from the root — the perfect 4th.
  3. Count 2 more semitones up from the 4th (7 semitones from the root) — the perfect 5th.
  4. Count 3 more semitones up from the 5th (10 semitones from the root) — the minor 7th.
  5. Count 4 more semitones up from the 7th (14 semitones from the root) — the 9th.
  6. Count 7 more semitones up from the 9th (21 semitones from the root — an octave plus a major 6th) — the 13th.
Example — C13sus4: start on C, count 5 semitones right to reach F, count 2 semitones more to reach G, count 3 semitones more to reach B♭, count 4 semitones more to reach D, count 7 semitones more to reach A. C‑F‑G‑B♭‑D‑A is the C13sus4 chord.
A fuller, extended version of the 9sus4 chord (Lesson 51) — still with no 3rd of any kind, just an even richer stack sitting on top of the suspended 4th.

Try it: pick a root and build the chord step by step

Step 1 of 6
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Chord toneNoteSemitones from rootMIDI #

All 12 dominant 13sus4 chords at a glance

ChordRootPerfect 4thPerfect 5thMinor 7th9th13th

This MIDI exercise plays all 12 dominant 13sus4 chords, one after another, moving around the circle of fourths — each chord's root sits a perfect 4th (5 semitones) above the last one: C → F → B♭ → E♭ → A♭ → D♭ → G♭/F♯ → B → E → A → D → G → back to C. Every chord is played as a full 6-note Dominant 13sus4 chord (root, perfect 4th, perfect 5th, minor 7th, 9th, 13th together).

Chord 1 of 12
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The 12 chords, in circle-of-fourths order

#ChordRootPerfect 4thPerfect 5thMinor 7th9th13th

Five jazz chord progressions built around the Dominant 13sus4 chord. Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
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Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes

Five gospel chord progressions built around the Dominant 13sus4 chord. Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
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Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes