Cool Chord #3 - Dominant 13th Sharp 11 - 13(#11)

[DaNatiMaestro]

Here we go... the Dominant 13th Sharp 11 chord.

I was trying to come up with a good chord and I found another one while listening to one of my ALL TIME favorite records.. Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi in particular one of my favorite songs of ALL TIME.. Christmas Time is Here.

You here this chord on the 2nd measure of Christmas Time is Here after the Fmaj9 chord.  The more I explore this chord the more uses I find for it. 

This could be used as a passing chord or a substituation chord in a progression.  This would also be an altered chord because we've altered the 11th by sharping it.

Let's look at this chord:

Eb13#11 LH/RH = EbBb/DbFAC

Chord breakdown wise: in the LH you have the Root,5 in the RH you have the b7,9,#11,13

A note here.. #11 is equivalent to #4 or b5

How would you use this chord?

This is extremely hot so just follow my logic.. lol

In a major 2-5-1 progression use this chord as a substitue for the 2 chord!!!:

in the Key of F a normal jazzy 2-5-1 progression would be:
LH/RH     NUMBER BREAKDOWN   Chord Name
GBbD/FAC    1-b3-5/b7-9-11     Gm11
CBb/DFBb    1-b7/9-11-b7         Bb/C   Bb over C  I think a Csus as well
FA/CEA       1-3/5-7-1             Fmaj7

Here is that same 2-5-1 progression with the dom13#11 added

again in the key of F, the substitution is going to happen on the 2 chord.. we're changing it from a Gm11 to Eb13#11.. changing to progression to a b7-5-1.. I actually do this progression all the time.. to change up the 2-5-1 progression.

LH/RH     NUMBER BREAKDOWN   Chord Name
EbBb/DbFAC   1-5/b7-9-#11-13   Eb13#11
CBb/DFBb      1-b7/9-11-b7         Bb/C   Bb over C  I think a Csus as well
FA/CEA         1-3/5-7-1             Fmaj7

note: notice how the notes flow in the 2nd progression we have two smooth voice leadings on the top note or melody note moving from C-Bb-A and then inside the chord another note is moving Db-D-E

Play the original progression and then play it with the change and hear how the progression changes.

Here is the 13#11 chord in every key chromatically from C.

C13#11
Db13#11
D13#11
Eb13#11    EbBb/DbFAC   1-5/b7-9-#11-13
E13#11      EB/DF#BbC#
F13#11      FC/EbGBD
Gb13#11    GbDb/EAbCEb
G13#11      GD/FAC#E
Ab13#11    AbEb/GbBbDF
A13#11
BbC13#11
B13#11


I gotta go but.. as an exercise..try to fill out the rest of these chords.. It's good practice for you!!!

Later folks...

I'll come back in fill in the rest later.

Another tool for your toolbelt.

[sjonathan02]

a. Excellent post

b. I LOVE "Christmas Time is Here", and I can play it a little bit. 

[chevonee]

Oooooooooh I've got another toy to play with...LOL
I'm about to try this baby out right now. I'll let you know if I have any question later on. I'm still enjoying the other chords that you've given, I really enjoy your lessons. God bless you and keep em comin'

[docjohn]

very cool maestro

[T-Block]

I use this chord all the time, but I use it in a 6-2-5-1-4 progression like this:

Key Eb  LH/RH

C / Bb-Eb-G (6)
F / A-Eb-G (2)
Bb / Db-F-Ab-C (5)
Eb / Db-F-A-C (1)   *here's the chord, i don't normally play the Bb
Ab / C-Eb-G-Bb (4)

[musallio]

Thanx 4 sharing once again guys..

My toolbelt sure is expanding

[cas10a]

Excellent post...

I like this song also, had to play this song at a Christmas Party a couple of years back...don't remember the chord I used, but sounds right, this is a good refresher...

I'm going to have to go back and listen and try to play this again...lol.

[Elmusico]

thank you. Wow You are so knowledgeable. I filled in the notes for the D13 (#11), I got: D,A/C, E G#,B. however I have a question. Is F# not used (the 3rd)? But more importantly, Your pattern asks us t include the 5th (in this key: A), but "A" being a 1/2 step away from the 13th, wouldn't this conflict? Confused. I saw this in a progression from Am>D13(#11)>Dm9.  I wanted to try it, but can't find a guitar configuration. Can you help me please. What does your hyphen in the notes signify? -Elmusico

[GospelEngineer]

thank you. Wow You are so knowledgeable. I filled in the notes for the D13 (#11), I got: D,A/C, E G#,B. however I have a question. Is F# not used (the 3rd)? But more importantly, Your pattern asks us t include the 5th (in this key: A), but "A" being a 1/2 step away from the 13th, wouldn't this conflict? Confused. I saw this in a progression from Am>D13(#11)>Dm9.  I wanted to try it, but can't find a guitar configuration. Can you help me please. What does your hyphen in the notes signify? -Elmusico

I'll attempt to explain.

First the hyphens in between notes just signifies that it's a chord instead of separate notes. If I would writing a scale I would simply put C D E F G etc. without the hyphens. With the hyphens it becomes a chord, C-D-E-G.

When extended chords such as 9ths, 11ths, 13ths, etc. are played it becomes unnecessary to use every note within the chord. Some can be omitted. It's common to only play the root and the fifth(D and A) in the left hand. This is referred to as a power chord.

In jazz the common way to voice chords is to use the root and the seventh(D and C) in the left or use the root and the third(D and F#)

so you could play:

D-C/E-G#-B

or

D-F#/E-G#-B