F13 on 7-string guitar

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

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

F13

  1. F1
  2. A3
  3. C5
  4. E♭♭7
  5. G2
  6. D6

F13 is F, A, C, E♭, G and D.

F13 has six notes, and the 7-string guitar has seven strings to play them on. The rest of this page shows how a hand fits one to the other.

On the staff

FACE♭GD

On a treble staff, F13 is written F, A, C, E♭, G and D.

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.

F13 under a hand

F13root positionposition 5
5fr13139♭795BEADGBE
1313995♭7C2C3C4C5

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds F, A, D, G, E♭, G and C, which are the degrees 1 3 13 9 ♭7 9 5 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. With F in the bass and seven strings sounding six notes, the 9 appears more than once.

Between the strings you sound: M3P4P4m6M3P4

F13/Afirst inversionposition 10
10fr3139513♭7BEADGBE
3139513♭7C2C3C4C5C6

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds A, D, G, C, F, A and E♭, which are the degrees 3 13 9 5 1 3 ♭7 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 F13/A. It has the same notes as the root-position grip, but with A in the bass it sounds different. With A in the bass and seven strings sounding six notes, the 3 appears more than once.

Between the strings you sound: P4P4P4P4M3TT

F13/Csecond inversionposition 1
51♭7139BEADGBE
5139139♭7C2C3C4C5

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds C, F, A, E♭, G, D and G, which are the degrees 5 1 3 ♭7 9 13 9 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 F13/C. It has the same notes as the root-position grip, but with C in the bass it sounds different. With C in the bass and seven strings sounding six notes, the 9 appears more than once.

Between the strings you sound: P4M3TTM3P5P4

F13/E♭third inversionposition 4
4fr♭73139513BEADGBE
3139513♭7C2C3C4C5

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds E♭, A, D, G, C, F and A, which are the degrees ♭7 3 13 9 5 1 3 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 F13/E♭. It has the same notes as the root-position grip, but with E♭ in the bass it sounds different. With E♭ in the bass and seven strings sounding six notes, the 3 appears more than once.

Between the strings you sound: TTP4P4P4P4M3

F13/Ginversion 4position 8
8fr9515♭7313BEADGBE
9515313♭7C2C3C4C5C6

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds G, C, F, C, E♭, A and D, which are the degrees 9 5 1 5 ♭7 3 13 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 F13/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 seven strings sounding six notes, the 5 appears more than once.

Between the strings you sound: P4P4P5m3TTP4

F13/Dinversion 5position 2
2fr139513♭79BEADGBE
1395139♭7C2C3C4C5

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds D, G, C, F, A, E♭ and G, which are the degrees 13 9 5 1 3 ♭7 9 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 F13/D. It has the same notes as the root-position grip, but with D in the bass it sounds different. With D in the bass and seven strings sounding six notes, the 9 appears more than once.

Between the strings you sound: P4P4P4M3TTM3

Six shapes for F13 on 7-string guitar: F13, F13/A, F13/C, F13/E♭, F13/G and F13/D.

Every grip here is F13, 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.

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

BEADGBE12345678910111213141556♭71235612356♭712356♭712356♭712356♭712356♭712356♭71235612356♭712

This diagram marks every F, A, C, E♭, G and D on the first fifteen frets of the 7-string 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