How to play A♭ dominant 7th add 13 chord on guitar
Shape 46456x
Shape characteristics
Closed voicing
Every sounding string is fretted, with no open strings. Tight, controllable tone that responds well to palm muting and dynamic picking.
Mid-neck · fret 4-6
Balanced tone, with neither the ringing openness of first position nor the bright snap of the upper register. Common choice for rhythm work when you want a fuller, more compact sound.
Five-string voicing
One string muted. Keeps a full low end without overlapping awkwardly with a bassist or second guitar.
Bass: A♭ · Top: F
The root is in the bass, so the chord sounds grounded and stable. This is the natural starting voicing for most progressions.
Compared to Shape 464564 , this voicing adds 1 more ringing string for a fuller sound.
How to play this shape
- 1 Place the 1st finger on the 4th fret of the 4th string and 6th string in barre position
- 2 Place the 2nd finger on the 5th fret of the 3rd string
- 3 Place the 3rd finger on the 6th fret of the 5th string
- 4 Place the 4th finger on the 6th fret of the 2nd string
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "46456x" mean?
The sequence 46456x is a highly compact guitar chord notation. It represents the fret played on each of the 6 strings, reading left-to-right from the thickest (lowest pitch) string to the thinnest (highest pitch) string: E, A, D, G, B, e.
- x means the string is muted or skipped entirely.
- 0 means the string is played "open" (without pressing over a fret).
- 1-9 represent standard fret numbers 1 to 9.
- a, b, c... represent frets 10, 11, 12, and higher (where a=10, b=11, c=12).
Can I play this A♭ dominant 7th add 13 shape anywhere else?
Yes! This specific layout is just one way to voice a A♭ dominant 7th add 13 chord. You can find all other variations in our chord shape library for A♭ dominant 7th add 13. Most guitarists choose different shapes based on whether they want a "brighter" or "deeper" sound, or which chord they are transitioning from.
Why do some strings have an 'x'?
Strings marked with an 'x' should not ring out. These notes are excluded because they don't belong to the A♭ dominant 7th add 13 chord or would clash with this specific voicing. You can mute these strings by lightly touching them with a finger that is already pressing a neighboring fret.
Other shapes
Showing 4 of 4 playable shapes