About the A flat minor thirteen chord
The A flat minor thirteen chord is a A flat minor thirteenth built from A flat, C flat, E flat, G flat, B flat, F. It sits outside the plain diatonic set, so it is borrowed to add color and tension.
It is also written G sharp minor thirteen , which spells the same notes enharmonically.
Inversions
(root position)
Notes and intervals
| 1 | A flat | Root |
| 2 | C flat | Minor 3rd |
| 3 | E flat | Perfect 5th |
| 4 | G flat | Minor 7th |
| 5 | B flat | Major 9th |
| 6 | F | Major 13th |
Shapes
Chromatic
Circle of Fifths
Other A flat chords
Simpler triads
Suspended
Sixths and sevenths
Extensions
Altered
Functional relationships
These chords are where this one most naturally comes from and resolves to inside a key.
Relative major
The relative major uses the same notes and key signature, so it works as a brighter home base.
Parallel major
The parallel major keeps the same root note but raises the third, giving the same key a brighter, happier sound.
Dominant
The dominant is a fifth above the root, and it builds tension that pulls strongly back to this chord.
Subdominant
The subdominant is a fourth above the root (a fifth below), and it usually leads on to the dominant or back home.
Tritone substitution
The tritone substitution stands in for this chord's dominant with a dominant seventh a half step above the root, which slides down by a half step to resolve here.
