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Unit 16 · Extended and altered harmony · Lesson 1 of 4

Ninths, elevenths, thirteenths

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Beyond the seventh

Keep stacking 3rds above a and you reach the : the 9th, 11th, and 13th (the 2nd, 4th, and 6th, an up).

  • C9 = C7 + D. Cmaj9 = Cmaj7 + D. Cm9 = Cm7 + D.
  • C13 usually leaves out the 11th, which clashes with the 3rd.

Jazz players rarely play every — the 3rd, 7th, and the colour tone carry the sound.

Chord builder

Step 1 of 2