What notes are in Bbm13?

Bbm13 contains Bb · Db · F · Ab · C · G. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.

What scale fits a m13 chord?

Dorian. Its raised sixth degree is exactly the thirteenth of the chord.

Usually root, third, seventh, ninth and thirteenth, with the fifth and eleventh dropped.

What notes are in the Bb Minor thirteenth chord?

The Bb Minor thirteenth chord contains the notes Bb · Db · F · Ab · C · G: the root Bb with the intervals 1P, 3m, 5P, 7m, 9M, 13M stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Bb, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the Bb Minor thirteenth chord?

Measured from Bb, the Bb Minor thirteenth chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3m, 5P, 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.

Bb Minor Thirteenth Chord (Bbm13): 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	Bb3 · Db4 · F4 · Ab4 · C5 · G5
Open (drop 2)	Bb3 · C4 · Db4 · F4 · Ab4 · G5
Shell	Bb3 · Db4 · Ab4
Rootless	Db3 · Ab3 · C4 · G4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

Bb Minor thirteenth (Bbm13) contains the notes Bb · Db · F · Ab · C · G, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

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

Inversions

An inversion of Bb Minor thirteenth puts a chord tone other than Bb in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales Bb Minor thirteenth belongs to.

In which keys

Bb Minor thirteenth is diatonic to 2 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

Ab majorii13Subdominant
F minoriv13Subdominant

Extensions beyond the seventh count when every note sits in the key.

Scales that contain it

Bb Minor thirteenth fits inside these scales, each built on Bb.

Bb DorianBb · C · Db · Eb · F · G · Ab
Bb Dorian #4Bb · C · Db · E · F · G · Ab
Bb Bebop MinorBb · C · Db · D · Eb · F · G · Ab
Bb Composite BluesBb · C · Db · D · Eb · Fb · F · G · Ab

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with Bb Minor thirteenth: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

Bbm9Bb · Db · F · Ab · C
Bbm69Bb · Db · F · G · C
Bbm7Bb · Db · F · Ab
Bbm6Bb · Db · F · G
Bbmadd9Bb · Db · F · C
BbmBb · Db · F
Bbsus2Bb · C · F
Bb5Bb · F

Minor thirteenth on every root

Cm13 C#m13 Dbm13 Dm13 D#m13 Ebm13 Em13 Fm13 F#m13 Gm13 G#m13 Abm13 Am13 Bm13

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Understanding the Bb Minor thirteenth chord

Names and symbols

Bbm13 is the chord symbol for Bb Minor thirteenth; it is also written Bb-13.

How it is built

On Bb it is Bb · Db · F · Ab · C · G, stacking 1P · 3m · 5P · 7m · 9M · 13M. The thirteenth is major even though the chord is minor, which is what gives it the Dorian flavour.

How it is used

It is the full expression of the Dorian sound — a minor chord with a raised sixth — and a staple of modal jazz and of soul vamps that stay on one chord for a long time.

Learn this properly

Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and Sevenths

Common questions

What notes are in Bbm13?: Bbm13 contains Bb · Db · F · Ab · C · G. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
What scale fits a m13 chord?: Dorian. Its raised sixth degree is exactly the thirteenth of the chord.
How is m13 voiced?: Usually root, third, seventh, ninth and thirteenth, with the fifth and eleventh dropped.
What notes are in the Bb Minor thirteenth chord?: The Bb Minor thirteenth chord contains the notes Bb · Db · F · Ab · C · G: the root Bb with the intervals 1P, 3m, 5P, 7m, 9M, 13M stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Bb, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the Bb Minor thirteenth chord?: Measured from Bb, the Bb Minor thirteenth chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3m, 5P, 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.