F 7b13 (F7b13)

Download MIDI
1+3+5+b7+b13
FACEbDb
4 4

Notes in F 7b13

F (root)ACEbDb

Inversions

Same notes as F 7b13, with a different chord tone as the lowest note. Useful for smoother movement between chords instead of jumping around the keyboard.

Root position

F in the bass

FACEbDb

1st inversion

A in the bass (F7b13/A)

ACFEbDb

2nd inversion

C in the bass (F7b13/C)

CFAEbDb

3rd inversion

Eb in the bass (F7b13/Eb)

FACEbDb

4th inversion

Db in the bass (F7b13/Db)

FACDbEb

Open voicings

A close-position chord like F 7b13 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

Eb on the bottom

FACEbDb

Drop 3

C on the bottom

CFAEbDb

F 7b13 is built from F, A, C, Eb and Db.

A dominant seventh with a flattened thirteenth, which is the same pitch as a sharpened fifth an octave up. It darkens a plain dominant just enough to pull harder toward its resolution, and it is one of the most common altered colors in jazz comping.

Difficulty: Advanced. Category: Extended chords. Click any highlighted key on the diagram above, or tab to it and press Enter, to hear that single note. Inversions mark the bass note with a contrasting outline.