![Minor thirteenth on F](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Minor_thirteenth_on_F.png)
In
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
or
music theory
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
, a thirteenth is the
note
Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to:
Music and entertainment
* Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music
* ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian
* ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened version ...
thirteen
scale degrees from the
root
In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...
of a
chord and also the
interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a
compound
Compound may refer to:
Architecture and built environments
* Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall
** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...
sixth, spanning an
octave
In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
plus a sixth. The thirteenth is most commonly major or minor .
![Upper-structure triad](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Upper-structure_triad.png)
A thirteenth chord is the stacking of six (
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
or
minor) thirds, the last being above the 11th of an
eleventh chord
In music theory, an eleventh chord is a chord that contains the tertian extension of the eleventh. Typically found in jazz, an eleventh chord also usually includes the seventh and ninth, and elements of the basic triad structure. Variants inc ...
. Thus a thirteenth chord is a
tertian
In music theory, ''tertian'' ( la, tertianus, "of or concerning thirds") describes any piece, chord, counterpoint etc. constructed from the intervals of (major and minor) thirds. An interval such as that between the notes A and C encompasses ...
(built from thirds) chord containing the interval of a thirteenth, and is an
extended chord
In music, extended chords are certain chords (built from thirds) or triads with notes ''extended'', or added, beyond the seventh. Ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth chords are extended chords. The thirteenth is the farthest extension diatonical ...
if it includes the
ninth
In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second.
Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...
and/or the
eleventh
In music or music theory, an eleventh is the note eleven scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the eleventh. The interval can be also described as a compound fourth, spanning an octave plus a f ...
. "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
The root position of a chord is the voicing of a triad, seventh chord, or ninth chord in which the root of the chord is the bass note and the other chord factors are above it. In the root position, uninverted, of a C-major triad, the bass is C ...
.
[Benward & Saker (2009). ''Music in Theory and Practice: Volume II'', p.179. Eighth Edition. .] For example, depending on
voicing, a major triad with an added major
sixth is usually called a
sixth chord
The term ''sixth chord'' refers to two different kinds of chord, the first in classical music and the second in modern popular music.
The original meaning of the term is a ''chord in first inversion'', in other words with its third in the bass a ...
, 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
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*_Function_model,_a_structured_representation_of_processes_in_a_system
*_Function_object_or_functor_or_functionoid,_a_concept_of_object-oriente_...
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_Dominant_thirteenth
Most_commonly,_13th_chords_serve_a_dominant_(music)">dominant_diatonic_function">function_
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*_Function_model,_a_structured_representation_of_processes_in_a_system
*_Function_object_or_functor_or_functionoid,_a_concept_of_object-oriente_...
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_Dominant_thirteenth
Most_commonly,_13th_chords_serve_a_dominant_(music)">dominant_diatonic_function">function_
Function_or_functionality_may_refer_to:
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*_Function_key,_a_type_of_key_on_computer_keyboards
*_Function_model,_a_structured_representation_of_processes_in_a_system
*_Function_object_or_functor_or_functionoid,_a_concept_of_object-oriente_...
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