C# Dominant 13th (C#13)

Also written as Db Dominant 13th (Db and C# are the same key).

1+3+5+b7+9+11+13
E#BC#G#D#F#A#
4 4
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Notes in C# Dominant 13th

C# (root)E#G#BD#F#A#

Inversions

Same notes as C# Dominant 13th, with a different chord tone as the lowest note. Useful for smoother movement between chords instead of jumping around the keyboard.

Root position

C# in the bass

E#BC#G#D#F#A#

1st inversion

E# in the bass

E#BG#D#F#A#C#

2nd inversion

G# in the bass

BE#G#D#F#A#C#

3rd inversion

B in the bass

BE#D#F#A#C#G#

4th inversion

D# in the bass

E#BD#F#A#C#G#

5th inversion

F# in the bass

E#BF#A#C#G#D#

6th inversion

A# in the bass

E#BA#C#G#D#F#

Open voicings

A close-position chord like C# Dominant 13th can sound cluttered in the middle of the keyboard. Jazz players open it up by dropping one note down an octave, spreading the same notes wider without changing the chord.

Drop 2

C# on the bottom

E#BC#F#G#D#A#

Drop 3

C# on the bottom

E#BC#D#G#F#A#

Play C#, E#, G#, B, D#, F# and A# together and you get C# Dominant 13th.

The fullest dominant chord on the page, stacking every odd-numbered extension on top of a plain dominant seventh. Playing all seven notes at once gets muddy fast, so most pianists quietly drop the ninth and eleventh and voice just the root, third, seventh and thirteenth.

Difficulty: Advanced. Category: Extended chords. Click any key on the diagram above to hear that single note.