G13 Chord on Guitar
G13 = G – B – D – F – A – E (Root, Major 3rd, Perfect 5th, Minor 7th, Major 9th, Major 13th)
G13 sits at the same third-fret barre as G9, but with the roles of the top two strings swapped: G9 raises the high e string to add the ninth, while G13 instead raises the B string to add the thirteenth, leaving the top string sitting on the plain root.
G-B-D-F-E: root, major third, minor seventh, and thirteenth, with the fifth replaced by that thirteenth on the B string. A dominant 13 chord is about as rich an extension as jazz comping typically reaches for before the color starts to feel cluttered, and it's often treated as functionally interchangeable with a plain dominant seventh — a fuller-sounding stand-in for G7 wherever the V chord in C major could use extra sophistication. The resolving pull toward C stays exactly as strong as it is in the plain seventh chord.
Fingerings
Barre (3rd fret)
How to Practice It
If G9 is already comfortable, work from that shape directly and retrain just the top two strings: instead of raising the high e string, leave it on the barre fret and raise the B string two frets instead. Drilling that specific string-swap distinction is worth the time, since 9 and 13 chords are far more often confused by ear than by hand once both shapes are known. Practice resolving G13 into C major to hear the extension collapse back into a plain triad.
Common Progressions
- G13 – C (V13 – I in C major, a jazz-comping cadence)
- Am7 – D7 – G13 – C (ii – V/V – V13 – I, a jazz turnaround)
- G13 – F13 – C (a funk/jazz vamp shifting the same shape down a fifth)
- C – G13 – C (I – V13 – I, a brief color departure and return)
FAQ
- How is G13 different from G9 in the fingering?
- The two top strings swap roles: G9 raises the high e string to sound the ninth and leaves the B string on the fifth, while G13 raises the B string to sound the thirteenth and leaves the high e string on the root.
- Does this G13 voicing also include the ninth?
- No — the fifth is replaced by the thirteenth and there's no remaining string to sound the ninth too, so this is a lean four-tone realization of the chord's function rather than a fully stacked extension.
- Why do jazz players use 13 chords instead of plain dominant sevenths?
- The extra color tone gives a fuller, more considered sound without changing the chord's basic dominant function, letting it substitute for a plain V7 in most progressions while sounding more harmonically developed.
- Is G13 difficult for a beginner?
- It's approachable once G major and G7 barres are solid, since the shape is built from that same hand position with one finger repositioned; the main challenge is training the ear to tell 9 and 13 apart, not the physical stretch.
- What's another name for the thirteenth note in this chord?
- E, a major sixth above the root — thirteenths and sixths share the same pitch class, with the different label simply signaling whether the chord is being understood as a stacked extension (13) or a simpler added color (6).
Related: how chords are built, chord finder.