E♭13 on guitar

E♭, G, B♭, D♭, F and C · dominant 13th · 6 shapes

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 13 · Sevenths.

E♭13

  1. E♭1
  2. G3
  3. B♭5
  4. D♭♭7
  5. F2
  6. C6

E♭13 is E♭, G, B♭, D♭, F and C.

E♭13 has six notes, and the guitar has six strings to play them on. The rest of this page shows how a hand fits one to the other.

On the staff

E♭GB♭D♭FC

On a treble staff, E♭13 is written E♭, G, B♭, D♭, F and C.

The staff shows the notes one after the other, then together. Written this way the chord is in close position, which means each note sits as near to the one below it as the spelling allows. A guitar almost never plays a chord in close position.

E♭13 under a hand

E♭13root positionposition 11
11fr15♭73139EADGBE
313915♭7C3C4C5C6

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds E♭, B♭, D♭, G, C and F, which are the degrees 1 5 ♭7 3 13 9 rather than the 1 3 5 ♭7 2 6 of the written chord. The root is the lowest note, so this grip is in root position and sounds the way the written chord suggests.

Between the strings you sound: P5m3TTP4P4

E♭13/Gfirst inversionposition 3
3fr3♭791313EADGBE
39133♭71C2C3C4C5

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds G, D♭, F, C, E♭ and G, which are the degrees 3 ♭7 9 13 1 3 rather than the 1 3 5 ♭7 2 6 of the written chord. The lowest note is the 3 rather than the root, so this grip is in first inversion, written E♭13/G. It has the same notes as the root-position grip, but with G in the bass it sounds different. With G in the bass and six strings sounding six notes, the 3 appears more than once. The 5 is left out altogether. A seventh chord gives up its fifth first, because the fifth adds the least to the chord's sound.

Between the strings you sound: TTM3P5m3M3

E♭13/B♭second inversionposition 4
4fr5♭731315EADGBE
3135♭715C2C3C4C5

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds B♭, D♭, G, C, E♭ and B♭, which are the degrees 5 ♭7 3 13 1 5 rather than the 1 3 5 ♭7 2 6 of the written chord. The lowest note is the 5 rather than the root, so this grip is in second inversion, written E♭13/B♭. It has the same notes as the root-position grip, but with B♭ in the bass it sounds different. With B♭ in the bass and six strings sounding six notes, the 5 appears more than once. The 9 is left out altogether. A seventh chord gives up its fifth first, because the fifth adds the least to the chord's sound.

Between the strings you sound: m3TTP4m3P5

E♭13/D♭third inversionposition 9
9fr♭7313951EADGBE
3139♭751C3C4C5C6

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds D♭, G, C, F, B♭ and E♭, which are the degrees ♭7 3 13 9 5 1 rather than the 1 3 5 ♭7 2 6 of the written chord. The lowest note is the ♭7 rather than the root, so this grip is in third inversion, written E♭13/D♭. It has the same notes as the root-position grip, but with D♭ in the bass it sounds different.

Between the strings you sound: TTP4P4P4P4

E♭13/Finversion 4position 1
9131♭73EADGBE
913331♭7C2C3C4C5

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds F, C, E♭, G, D♭ and G, which are the degrees 9 13 1 3 ♭7 3 rather than the 1 3 5 ♭7 2 6 of the written chord. The lowest note is the 9 rather than the root, so this grip is in inversion 4, written E♭13/F. It has the same notes as the root-position grip, but with F in the bass it sounds different. With F in the bass and six strings sounding six notes, the 3 appears more than once. The 5 is left out altogether. A seventh chord gives up its fifth first, because the fifth adds the least to the chord's sound.

Between the strings you sound: P5m3M3TTTT

E♭13/Cinversion 5position 8
8fr139513♭7EADGBE
139351♭7C3C4C5C6

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds C, F, B♭, E♭, G and D♭, which are the degrees 13 9 5 1 3 ♭7 rather than the 1 3 5 ♭7 2 6 of the written chord. The lowest note is the 13 rather than the root, so this grip is in inversion 5, written E♭13/C. It has the same notes as the root-position grip, but with C in the bass it sounds different.

Between the strings you sound: P4P4P4M3TT

Six shapes for E♭13 on guitar: E♭13, E♭13/G, E♭13/B♭, E♭13/D♭, E♭13/F and E♭13/C.

Every grip here is E♭13, but no two of them sound alike. A chord with the root as its lowest note is in root position, and a chord with any other note at the bottom is an inversion. On a keyboard you choose the inversion you want, but on a neck the shape your hand can reach usually decides it for you. When a grip sounds a note more than once, the fretting hand decides which note that is, not the harmony.

E♭, G, B♭, D♭, F and C on the whole neck

EADGBE1234567891011121314152356♭712356♭71235612356♭712356♭712356♭712356♭72356♭7123

This diagram marks every E♭, G, B♭, D♭, F and C on the first fifteen frets of the guitar.

Every grip above is a handful of the notes on this diagram, and none of them uses a note that is not shown here.

The words on this page were written with the help of AI and may contain a mistake. Its diagrams are drawn by Everyfret’s own software. How Everyfret is made