B minor thirteenth (Bm13) chord on guitar
- Notes
- BDF♯AC♯G♯
- Formula
- 1♭35♭7913
How to play Bm13 on guitar
-
Shape 1 · 1st position
no 5th (F♯), 9th (C♯)
-
Shape 2 · fret 2 · barre
no 9th (C♯)
-
Shape 3 · fret 7 · barre
-
Shape 4 · fret 5
no 5th (F♯), 9th (C♯)
Some shapes leave out: 5th (F♯), 9th (C♯). The caption of each one says what is missing. The 5th is the first to go: it barely changes the sound of the chord.
Numbers are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky. x = do not play the string, o = open string. The coloured dot is the root (B). The same shapes work on acoustic, classical and electric guitar.
Bm13 inversions on guitar
The same Bm13 with another chord note in the bass (the lowest note that sounds). The notes stay the same, but the colour changes, and the bass line can move by step from one chord to the next. In a chord symbol, the bass comes after the slash.
3rd (D) in the bass1st inversion · Bm13/D
3rd (D) in the bass1st inversion · Bm13/D
5th (F♯) in the bass2nd inversion · Bm13/F#
5th (F♯) in the bass2nd inversion · Bm13/F#
7th (A) in the bass3rd inversion · Bm13/A
7th (A) in the bass3rd inversion · Bm13/A
About the minor thirteenth chord
A minor seventh chord with a major 13th: m7 with a Dorian colour, common in jazz, funk and soul as a chord that keeps going round while the melody moves. The formula here is the one most used, without the 11th: 1, ♭3, 5, ♭7, 9 and 13; as in the 13 chord, the 5th and 9th may be left out.
Notes and intervals of Bm13
Bm13 (B minor thirteenth) is built from 6 notes. Each one fills a degree of the chord:
- B · 1 · root
- D · ♭3 · minor third
- F♯ · 5 · perfect fifth
- A · ♭7 · minor seventh
- C♯ · 9 · ninth
- G♯ · 13 · thirteenth
Other B chords
- B
- Bm
- B7
- B7M
- Bm7
- Bm7(b5)
- B°
- B°7
- B+
- Bsus2
- Bsus4
- B7sus4
- B5
- Badd9
- B6
- Bm6
- B9
- Bm(add9)
- Bm9
- B7M(9)
- Bm(7M)
- B7M(#5)
- B7(b9)
- B6(9)
- Bm6(9)
- B11
- Bm11
- B13
- Bm13
- B7(#9)
- B7(#11)
- B7(b13)
- B7(#5)
- B7M(#11)
- B9sus4
Minor thirteenth: other roots
Frequently asked questions
How do you play the Bm13 chord on guitar?
Bm13 (B minor thirteenth) has 4 fingerings on this page, from easiest to hardest. Each diagram shows the fingers, the open strings (o) and the strings you do not play (x), and you can hear every shape.
What notes are in Bm13?
The notes of Bm13 are B, D, F♯, A, C♯, G♯. The formula is 1 · ♭3 · 5 · ♭7 · 9 · 13: root, minor third, perfect fifth, minor seventh, ninth, thirteenth.
What does Bm13 mean?
Bm13 is the chord symbol for B minor thirteenth. A minor seventh chord with a major 13th: m7 with a Dorian colour, common in jazz, funk and soul as a chord that keeps going round while the melody moves. The formula here is the one most used, without the 11th: 1, ♭3, 5, ♭7, 9 and 13; as in the 13 chord, the 5th and 9th may be left out.