How to Play a C13(b9) Chord on Guitar – Easy C Dominant Thirteen Flat Nine Guitar Chord

C 13(b9) position 3 guitar chord diagram

Welcome to our tutorial on the intriguing C 13(b9) chord. This chord is a member of the Dominant Chords family, known for their unique sound and extensive use in various music genres. The C 13(b9) chord is composed of the notes C, E, G, Bb, Db, F, and A, making it a rich and complex chord that can add depth and sophistication to your music.

In order to understand and play this chord effectively, you need to grasp the concept of musical intervals. The intervals that build the C 13(b9) chord are 1 (Root), 3 (Major Third), 5 (Perfect Fifth), b7 (Minor Seventh), b9 (Minor Ninth), 11 (Perfect Eleventh), and 13 (Major Thirteenth). You can delve into a more detailed explanation of these intervals in our fretboard intervals tutorial.

Learning this chord may be a bit challenging if you're a beginner, as it requires a good understanding of chord construction. If you're not familiar with how chords are built by stacking intervals, we recommend you to visit our guitar music theory tutorial.

Given its complexity, the C 13(b9) chord is typically used in more advanced music, particularly in jazz. If you're interested in learning more about this style of music, check out our jazz chord progressions tutorial.

Finally, if you're looking to expand your chord vocabulary beyond the basics, our dominant guitar chords tutorial is a great resource. It covers a wide range of dominant chords, including the C 13(b9) chord that we are focusing on here.

With a good understanding of the theory behind the C 13(b9) chord and some practice, you'll be adding this unique sound to your music in no time. Happy playing!

Notes in the C 13(b9) chord:

CEGBbDbFA

How the Dominant Thirteen Flat Nine chord is built:

1
b2
2
b3
3
4
b5
5
#5
6
b7
7
8
b9
9
#9
11
#11
13

How To Play The C Dominant Thirteen Flat Nine chord on guitar

Chord boxes are sorted from the easiest to the hardest. Learn how to read chord diagrams.

If you have difficulties with bar chord shapes, check the Bar Chords Tips tutorial.

You can also use this accessible chords page with written diagrams instruction.

Position 1
Movable

C 13(b9) position 3 guitar chord diagram

download this tutorial in pdfYou can find more shapes in our all guitar chords online library. If you prefer a printable pdf, download the Free Guitar Chords Chart Pdf

Chord tones in the C 13(b9) chord

You can create any fingering you like on any part of the fretboard, just play some of the chord tones shown in the map below. Some shapes will sound good, some less, let your ears decide!

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
3
11
5
13
b7
1
b9
3
11
5
13
b7
1
b9
3
11
5
13
b7
1
3
11
5
13
b7
1
b9
3
11
5
13
b7
1
b9
3
11
5
13
b7
1
b9
3
11
5
13
b7
1
b9
3
11
5
13
b7
1
b9
3
11
5