What notes are in the Ab 9b13 chord?

The Ab 9b13 chord contains the notes Ab · C · Gb · Bb · Fb: the root Ab with the intervals 1P, 3M, 7m, 9M, 13m stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Ab, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the Ab 9b13 chord?

Measured from Ab, the Ab 9b13 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 7m, 9M, 13m. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.

How do I play the Ab 9b13 chord?

On guitar the most common Ab 9b13 shape is 412112, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Ab3 · C4 · Gb4 · Bb4 · Fb5 with the right hand, or move the root down into the left hand and keep the rest above it. Every shape on this page plays when you press it.

Ab 9b13 Chord (Ab9b13): Notes, Piano & Guitar

Play it on your instrument

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Voicings on the piano

Voicing	Notes	Play it on your instrument
Closed, root position	Ab3 · C4 · Gb4 · Bb4 · Fb5
Open (drop 2)	Ab3 · Bb3 · C4 · Gb4 · Fb5
Shell	Ab3 · C4 · Gb4
Rootless	C3 · Gb3 · Bb3 · Fb4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

Ab 9b13 (Ab9b13) contains the notes Ab · C · Gb · Bb · Fb, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords · extensions

Inversions

An inversion of Ab 9b13 puts a chord tone other than Ab in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales Ab 9b13 belongs to.

In which keys

Ab 9b13 is not diatonic to any major or minor key: at least one of its notes lies outside every one of them.

Scales that contain it

Ab 9b13 fits inside these scales, each built on Ab.

Ab Whole ToneAb · Bb · C · D · E · F#
Ab Mixolydian b6Ab · Bb · C · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb
Ab Leading Whole ToneAb · Bb · C · D · E · Gb · G
Ab Lydian MinorAb · Bb · C · D · Eb · Fb · Gb
Ab Messiaen's Mode #6Ab · Bb · C · Db · D · E · F# · G
Ab Messiaen's Mode #3Ab · Bb · Cb · C · D · Eb · Fb · Gb · G

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with Ab 9b13: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

Ab7#5Ab · C · E · Gb
Ab7b13Ab · C · Gb · Fb
Ab9no5Ab · C · Gb · Bb
Abmaj#5add9Ab · C · E · Bb
AbaugAb · C · E
Ab7no5Ab · C · Gb

Richer

Ab9#5#11Ab · C · E · Gb · Bb · D
Ab9#11b13Ab · C · Eb · Gb · Bb · D · Fb

Common substitutions

D9b13D · F# · C · E · Bb
D9b13 shares the third and seventh of Ab9b13 a tritone away, so it can replace it as a dominant.
Ebm7Eb · Gb · Bb · Db
Ebm7 is the ii chord that leads into Ab9b13 in a ii–V.

9b13 on every root

C9b13 C#9b13 D9b13 Eb9b13 E9b13 F9b13 F#9b13 G9b13 G#9b13 A9b13 Bb9b13 B9b13

Open it in a tool

Understanding the Ab 9b13 chord

Names and symbols

Ab9b13 is the chord symbol for Ab 9b13.

Ab 9b13 and G# 9b13 are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. G# 9b13

Common questions

What notes are in the Ab 9b13 chord?: The Ab 9b13 chord contains the notes Ab · C · Gb · Bb · Fb: the root Ab with the intervals 1P, 3M, 7m, 9M, 13m stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Ab, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the Ab 9b13 chord?: Measured from Ab, the Ab 9b13 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 7m, 9M, 13m. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.
How do I play the Ab 9b13 chord?: On guitar the most common Ab 9b13 shape is 412112, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Ab3 · C4 · Gb4 · Bb4 · Fb5 with the right hand, or move the root down into the left hand and keep the rest above it. Every shape on this page plays when you press it.