Thirteenth Chord
A chord stacked up to the thirteenth, usually with gaps
Related
A thirteenth chord stacks thirds up to the thirteenth. That note shares its pitch class with a sixth, but in a chord built through seventh, ninth and eleventh it is an extension, not an added sixth; a thirteenth chord normally includes the seventh, an added-six chord does not.
A full stack has seven notes, and players almost always omit some: the fifth and eleventh go first, especially in a dominant thirteenth, where the natural eleventh clashes with the third. A common voicing is root, third, seventh, ninth and thirteenth, full but not muddy.
Major, minor and dominant thirteenths differ in colour: a major third with a major thirteenth is bright, a minor third with a major thirteenth is soft, and the dominant thirteenth leans toward resolution. The 13 is a ceiling, not an order to sound every note.
Sources
- 十三和弦的省略与记谱，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Chord"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.