A regular dominant chord is composed of 1 3 5 b7. An extended dominant extends to include the 9 and/or 13. (Remember – 9 is the same as 2 and 13 is the same as 6, just an octave higher.)

Dominant 9

  • Composed of 1 3 5 b7 9
  • The 5 can be left out because it’s the cornstarch of chords

Dom 9 – Root 6

While this is a 6th string root fingering, the 6th string isn’t played. The root on the 6th string is used as a guideline to help you determine which frets to play. The diagram below shows the 6th and 1st string roots with a hollow dot – meaning use them as a guide but don’t play them. Personally, I usually use the 1st string for this. I line up my pinky with the root note on the 1st string and then place my fingers on strings 2, 3, 4, and 5 accordingly.

Dom 9 – Root 6 (another option)

Similar to the other 6th string root, I guide myself off the 1st string. But this time the 1st string is played (with the pinky).

Dom 9 – Root 5

Commonly known as the James Brown chord.

Dom 9 – Root 4

Dominant 13

  • Composed of 1 3 5 b7 9 13
  • The 5 can be left out because it’s the cornstarch of chords
  • The 9 can be left out

Dom 13 – Root 6

Dom 13 – Root 6 (another option)

Similar to the dom 9 root 6 fingerings, the 6th string isn’t played here. The diagram below shows the 6th and 1st string roots with a hollow dot – meaning use them as a guide but don’t play them. Again, I line up my pinky with the root on the 1st string as a guide.

Dom 13 – Root 5

Think of this as the James Brown chord with a pinky stretch.

Dom 13 – Root 2 (5)

The root that’s played is on the 2nd string, but I typically use the 5th string root as my guide. The diagram below shows the 5th string root with a hollow dot – meaning use it as a guide but don’t play it.

What to Practice

Try these practice examples:

Sex Machine

James Brown’s Sex Machine (in the key of Eb) is mainly a 5th string root dom 9 and dom 13 (pinky stretch) alternating back and forth.

Sex Machine – James Brown

Verses:
Eb9 | Eb13 Eb9

Bridge:
Ab13 Ab9 | Gb9 G9 Ab9

Blues

You can apply 9th and 13th chords to any blues progression. A blues with a rhumba beat – or any syncopated rhythm – works well as it provides a consistent and interesting rhythm guitar part without being too busy. One example is Crosscut Saw, made famous by Albert King. Here’s a version by the great Josh Smith and Matt Schofield. Once Josh starts singing, you can really hear the rhythm/beat Matt is playing.

Crosscut Saw – Josh Smith and Matt Schofield

The chord progression below shows the basic progression. Go ahead and play them all as some combination of 9s and 13s.

  • As the song is in the key of G, start around fret 3 (with a 6th string root G) and play through the 12 bars once or twice. Stay within about a 4-fret range the whole time.
  • Move up to around fret 5 using a 4th string root G9 and play through the progression once or twice. Stay within about a 4-fret range the whole time.
  • Finally, move up to around fret 10 and use a 5th string root G9 or G13 to play through the progression a few more times. Stay within about a 4-fret range the whole time.

G | G | G | G |
C | C | G | G |
D | C | G | D ||