page_title: Thirteenth
hierarchical_section_title: Thirteenth
caption_attribution_description: English: Upper structure Dm (in red), on top of lower structure C7 (in black), creating dominant thirteenth chord: C E G B♭ D F A.
context_page_description: In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the interval between the sixth and first scale degrees when the sixth is transposed up an octave, creating a compound sixth, or thirteenth. The thirteenth is most commonly major or minor.
  A thirteenth chord is the stacking of six thirds, the last being above the 11th of an eleventh chord. Thus a thirteenth chord is a tertian chord containing the interval of a thirteenth, and is an extended chord if it includes the ninth and/or the eleventh. "The jazzy thirteenth is a very versatile chord and is used in many genres." Since 13th chords tend to become unclear or confused with other chords when inverted, they are generally found in root position. For example, depending on voicing, a major triad with an added major sixth is usually called a sixth chord, because the sixth serves as a substitution for the major seventh, thus considered a chord tone in such context.
  However, Walter Piston, writing in 1952, considered that, "a true thirteenth chord, arrived at by superposition of thirds, is a rare phenomenon even in 20th-century music." This may be due to four-part writing, instrument limitations, and voice leading and stylistic considerations.
context_section_description: In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the interval between the sixth and first scale degrees when the sixth is transposed up an octave, creating a compound sixth, or thirteenth. The thirteenth (an octave plus a sixth) is most commonly major Play  or minor Play .
  A thirteenth chord is the stacking of six (major or minor) thirds, the last being above the 11th of an eleventh chord. Thus a thirteenth chord is a tertian (built from thirds) chord containing the interval of a thirteenth, and is an extended chord if it includes the ninth and/or the eleventh. "The jazzy thirteenth is a very versatile chord and is used in many genres." Since 13th chords tend to become unclear or confused with other chords when inverted, they are generally found in root position. For example, depending on voicing, a major triad with an added major sixth is usually called a sixth chord Play , because the sixth serves as a substitution for the major seventh, thus considered a chord tone in such context. 
  However, Walter Piston, writing in 1952, considered that, "a true thirteenth chord, arrived at by superposition of thirds, is a rare phenomenon even in 20th-century music." This may be due to four-part writing, instrument limitations, and voice leading and stylistic considerations. For example, "to make the chord more playable [on guitar], thirteenth chords often omit the fifth and the ninth."
caption: Dominant thirteenth extended chord: C E G B♭ D F A About this soundplay (help·info). The upper structure or extensions, i.e. notes beyond the seventh, in red.
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