Editing Thirteenth (section)

{{about|the term's use in music theory}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}

{{Image frame|content=<score sound="1">
{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key f \major \clef bass <f, d'>1 }
</score>|width=300|caption=Compound interval of a major thirteenth from F to D in the next octave up}}

{{Infobox musical interval
| main_interval_name = major thirteenth
| inverse = [[minor third]]
| other_names = compound sixth
| abbreviation = M13
| semitones = 21
| interval_class = 3
| just_interval = 
| cents_equal_temperament = 2100.0
| cents_24T_equal_temperament = 
| cents_just_intonation = 
}}

{{Image frame|content=<score sound="1">
{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \key f \minor \clef bass <f, des'>1 }
</score>|width=300|caption=Minor thirteenth: F to D{{music|b}}}}

{{Infobox musical interval
| main_interval_name = minor thirteenth
| inverse = [[major third]]
| other_names = 
| abbreviation = m13
| semitones = 20
| interval_class = 4
| just_interval = 
| cents_equal_temperament = 2000.0
| cents_24T_equal_temperament = 
| cents_just_intonation = 
}}

In [[music]] or [[music theory]], a '''thirteenth''' is the [[Musical note|note]] thirteen [[scale degree]]s from the [[root (chord)|root]] of a [[chord (music)|chord]] and also the [[interval (music)|interval]] between the root and the thirteenth. The thirteenth is most commonly major {{audio|Major thirteenth on F.mid|Play}} or minor {{audio|Minor thirteenth on F.mid|Play}}.

{{Image frame|content=<score sound="1">
\fixed c' {
  \omit Score.TimeSignature
  <c e g bes \tweak NoteHead.color #red d' \tweak NoteHead.color #red f' \tweak NoteHead.color #red a'>1
}
</score>|width=300|caption=Dominant thirteenth extended chord: C E G B{{music|flat}} D F A. The [[upper structure]] or extensions, i.e. notes beyond the seventh, in red.}}

A '''thirteenth chord''' is the stacking of six ([[major third|major]] or [[minor third|minor]]) thirds, the last being above the 11th of an [[eleventh chord]].{{sfn|Benward|Saker|2009|p=360}} Thus a thirteenth chord is a [[tertian]] (built from thirds) chord containing the interval of a thirteenth, and is an [[extended chord]] if it includes the [[ninth]] and/or the [[eleventh]]. "The jazzy thirteenth is a very versatile chord and is used in many genres."{{sfn|Capone|2006|p=48}} Since 13th chords tend to become unclear or confused with other chords when [[Inverted chord|inverted]], they are generally found in [[root position]].{{sfn|Benward|Saker|2009|p=179}} For example, depending on [[voicing (music)|voicing]], a major triad with an added major [[sixth (chord)|sixth]] is usually called a [[sixth chord]] {{Audio|Add6 chord on C.mid|Play}}, because the sixth serves as a substitution for the major seventh, thus considered a chord tone in such context. 

However, [[Walter Piston]], writing in 1952, considered that, "a true thirteenth chord, arrived at by superposition of thirds, is a rare phenomenon even in 20th-century music."<ref name="Piston">{{cite journal |last1=Piston |first1=Walter |title=''Harmonic Practice'' by Roger Sessions |journal=The Musical Quarterly |date=1952 |volume=38 |issue=3 |page=463 |doi=10.1093/mq/XXXVIII.3.457|department=Review}}</ref> This may be due to [[four-part writing]], instrument limitations, and [[voice leading]] and stylistic considerations. For example, "to make the chord more playable [on [[guitar]]], thirteenth chords often omit the fifth and the ninth."{{sfn|Capone|2006|p=66}}