If you want to play G13 on the piano, start with its notes: G, B, D, F, A, C, E. On piano it is played from the keys G, B, D, F, A, C, E, root position first, then in inversions. This is a dominant 13th chord, and the sections below take you from the notes table to real fingerings, common mistakes and the musical contexts where G13 sounds right.
What notes are in the G13 chord?
The G13 chord is a dominant 13th chord, and its notes are fixed: G, B, D, F, A, C, E. Every voicing on every instrument uses these same notes, in some order and in some octave — change one of them and you are playing a different chord. The table below lists each note with its interval from the root G, so you can see the structure of G13 at a glance. On the piano, play the keys G, B, D, F, A, C, E slowly and listen for each note of G13 in turn.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| G | Root |
| B | 3 |
| D | 5 |
| F | b7 |
| A | 9 |
| C | 11 |
| E | 13 |
The root is G, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in G13 are 3, 5, b7, 9, 11, 13. That combination is what makes G13 sound the way it does: the intervals decide the colour, and the root decides the pitch. On the piano, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
G13 sounds warm and jazzy, the sound of a dominant chord with every colour note stacked on top. Listen for that character when you play it — if G13 does not sound that way, one of the notes is probably wrong, and the table above is the place to check. On the piano, play the keys G, B, D, F, A, C, E slowly and listen for each note of G13 in turn.
Comparing G13 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, 13th against 11th: G13 adds the 13th E on top of the 11th chord. It is the fullest dominant extension, and in practice several notes are omitted. Hearing the comparison matters more than reading it: play G13, then play the chord it is compared with above, and let your ear find the note that changed. On the piano, play the keys G, B, D, F, A, C, E slowly and listen for each note of G13 in turn.
How to play G13 on piano
On the piano, G13 is played from the keys G, B, D, F, A, C, E. In root position the lowest note is G, the root, with the other notes stacked above it in the order G, B, D, F, A, C, E. Play it with the right hand first, then with the left hand an octave lower, so both hands know the shape of G13 before you try it in a progression.
First inversion of G13 puts B in the bass, with the notes in the order B, D, F, A, C, E, G. The chord is still G13 — the notes have not changed, only their order — but the bass note changes how it connects to the chord before and after it. Use this inversion when the bass line wants to step to B rather than jump to G, and practise moving from root position to this inversion without lifting your hand off the keys more than you must.
Second inversion of G13 puts D in the bass, with the notes in the order D, F, A, C, E, G, B. The chord is still G13 — the notes have not changed, only their order — but the bass note changes how it connects to the chord before and after it. Use this inversion when the bass line wants to step to D rather than jump to G, and practise moving from root position to this inversion without lifting your hand off the keys more than you must.
Third inversion of G13 puts F in the bass, with the notes in the order F, A, C, E, G, B, D. The chord is still G13 — the notes have not changed, only their order — but the bass note changes how it connects to the chord before and after it. Use this inversion when the bass line wants to step to F rather than jump to G, and practise moving from root position to this inversion without lifting your hand off the keys more than you must.
Because G13 has 7 notes, it has further inversions beyond the third, each one putting a different chord tone in the bass. The principle stays the same: the notes are always G, B, D, F, A, C, E, and the inversion you choose is the one whose bass note makes the smoothest line through the progression. Try the Chord Inverter to see every inversion of G13 on the keyboard.
For fingering, a good starting point for G13 in root position in the right hand is thumb on G, then one finger per note in order, with the little finger on the top note E. For the left hand, mirror it: little finger on the low G and thumb on the top note. When a note is a black key — none of the notes in this chord are black keys — let your longer fingers take it, since they reach the black keys more easily. Practise G13 in root position and first inversion, hands separately, then together, at a slow tempo, and use the Piano Chord Finder to check the voicing on the keyboard.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make G13 sound wrong on the piano, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Voicing it too low. Low extensions sound muddy. Spread the chord across octaves and keep the 13th E high. On the piano, the root-position keys G, B, D, F, A, C, E show G13 most clearly.
Using it everywhere. G13 is a special-occasion chord. Save it for turnarounds and final dominants, where its richness earns its place. On the piano, play the keys G, B, D, F, A, C, E slowly and listen for each note of G13 in turn.
Playing every inversion with the same hand shape. Each inversion of G13 needs its own hand shape, because the notes sit under different fingers. If you force the root-position fingering onto an inversion, the hand cramps and notes get missed. Learn the fingering for each inversion of G13 separately, hands apart, before you join them. On the piano, play the keys G, B, D, F, A, C, E slowly and listen for each note of G13 in turn.
Trying to play all seven notes. Seven notes cannot fit in most voicings. Keep the root, 3rd, 7th and 13th, and drop the 5th, 9th and 11th as needed. On the piano, the root-position keys G, B, D, F, A, C, E show G13 most clearly.
Where G13 is used
G13 is not a diatonic triad in any major or minor key, because it is an extended or altered chord, but its base triad belongs to the key of C major, the key of D major, the key of G major. a chord for open, spread voicings — it needs space for all its notes. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward C major, the key a perfect fourth above G, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where G13 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the piano, G13 is the keys G, B, D, F, A, C, E, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
Because G13 is an extended or altered chord, it appears in progressions as a colour or a dominant rather than as a diatonic staple. Try it in place of the plain G triad in a progression you already know, and listen to how the extra notes change the feel — that substitution is the usual way extended chords enter real music. The Chord Progression Builder lets you try G13 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the piano, play the keys G, B, D, F, A, C, E slowly and listen for each note of G13 in turn.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in G13 on guitar, G13 on ukulele, G13 on bass, and the scales that fit over it are the G major scale and the G minor pentatonic scale. Learning G13 on the piano and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — G, B, D, F, A, C, E — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising G13
A short worked example makes G13 concrete. Play the four-chord progression C – G – Am – F in C major, the key G13 most often resolves toward: C – G – Am – F. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how G13 sounds in that sequence — whether it feels like home, like a lift, or like a chord on its way somewhere else. Then play the same four chords in a different order, starting on G13 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the piano, play the keys G, B, D, F, A, C, E slowly and listen for each note of G13 in turn.
For a second exercise, play G13 and then the chord a fourth above G, back and forth, four times each. That move — a chord and the chord a fourth above it — is the most common resolution in Western music, and it is the move G13 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing G13 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: G, B, D, F, A, C, E. Naming the notes while you play them is what turns a shape into knowledge you can use in any key. Test yourself with the Practice Chord Quiz and keep time with the Metronome as the tempo rises. On the piano, the root-position keys G, B, D, F, A, C, E show G13 most clearly.
Frequently asked questions
Where is G13 used?
G13 is a V13 chord in jazz, used as the richest dominant before a resolution to the tonic. It appears in jazz standards, turnarounds and final cadences. On the piano, the keys above put that note under your fingers.
How do you play G13 on the piano?
In root position, play the keys G, B, D, F, A, C, E, with G as the lowest note. That is the basic shape of G13 on the piano. The inversions above put a different note in the bass, and the Chord Inverter shows every inversion of G13 on the keyboard.
What is the first inversion of G13?
The first inversion of G13 puts B in the bass, with the notes in the order B, D, F, A, C, E, G. The chord is still G13 — only the bass note has changed — and it is the inversion to use when the bass line steps to B.
Which fingers do you use for G13 on piano?
In the right hand, start with the thumb on G and one finger per note in order, ending with the little finger on E. In the left hand, mirror it with the little finger on the low G. Longer fingers take the black keys, so check which notes of G13 are black keys before you settle on a fingering.
What notes are in G13?
G13 contains G, B, D, F, A, C, E: root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, flattened 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th. In real voicings several notes are omitted — the essential ones are the root, 3rd, 7th and 13th. On the piano, the keys above put that note under your fingers.