Lesson 34 · All 12 keys

Dominant 13th Chord Trainer

Learn how a Dominant 13th chord is built one semitone-count at a time — a dominant 11th chord (Lesson 33) with a 13th stacked on top — the fullest possible dominant chord — then put it to work with three MIDI exercises: playing all 12 Dominant 13th 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 13th chord is built

A Dominant 13th chord — written 13 (e.g. C13) — is a 7-note chord: a dominant 11th chord (Lesson 33) with a 13th stacked on top — the fullest possible dominant chord. Every 13 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 4 semitones up from the root — the major 3rd.
  3. Count 3 more semitones up from the 3rd (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 3 more semitones up from the 9th (17 semitones from the root) — the 11th.
  7. Count 4 more semitones up from the 11th (21 semitones from the root — an octave plus a major 6th) — the 13th, the highest possible dominant extension.
Example — B♭13: start on B♭ and stack the pattern 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4 (21 semitones total) to land on B♭‑D‑F‑A♭‑C‑E♭‑G, the full 7-note B♭13 chord — every chord tone from the root all the way to the 13th, with nothing skipped.
Seven distinct notes is more than two hands can (or should) voice at once, so real jazz pianists almost always thin this chord out — the 5th and 11th are the first to go, since the 5th adds little color and the 11th clashes with the 3rd. This trainer plays the complete textbook stack so you can hear and see every tone the "13th" name refers to, but a real-world voicing is usually root, 3rd, ♭7th, and 13th, with the 9th added when there's room.

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

Step 1 of 7
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Chord toneNoteSemitones from rootMIDI #

All 12 Dominant 13th chords at a glance

ChordRoot+4 semitones → Major 3rd+3 semitones → Perfect 5th+3 semitones → Minor 7th+4 semitones → 9th+3 semitones → 11th+4 semitones → 13th

This MIDI exercise plays all 12 Dominant 13th 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 7-note Dominant 13th chord (root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th together).

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

#ChordRootMajor 3rdPerfect 5thMinor 7th9th11th13th

Five jazz chord progressions built around the Dominant 13th 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 13th 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