11ths and 13ths

[blyempowered]

Are there any gospel songs that you've heard where an 11th and 13th chord are clearly identifiable (is that a word)? I'm just exploring 11ths and 13ths. I messed around with a chord or two this morning.

[cas10a]

"Jesus Is Real" - John P. Kee, in the intro...

[blyempowered]

"Jesus Is Real" - John P. Kee, in the intro...

Ok very interesting. Thanks!

[T-Block]

Pretty much any of the "churchy" gospel songs or any song with shouting music should have 13ths in them. Check out "It's About Time For A Miracle" by Beverly Crawford.

As far as 11ths, those are more difficult to recognize. I can't think of a song off the top of my head right now, so I'll have to get back to ya.

[blyempowered]

Pretty much any of the "churchy" gospel songs or any song with shouting music should have 13ths in them. Check out "It's About Time For A Miracle" by Beverly Crawford.

As far as 11ths, those are more difficult to recognize. I can't think of a song off the top of my head right now, so I'll have to get back to ya.

Wow! Didn't know that 13ths were that common in gospel! Thanks dude!

[csedwards2]

those old Kirk Franklin tunes with the Family, Hezekiahs original LFC stuff

[JamesPlaysPiano]

You hear them sometimes when they want a really "full," "jazzy" kind of sound in the chord. They're often voiced in piano or horns or whatever, using a standard jazz polychord type of voicing.

For example, for C13(#11), imagine a bass player playing a low C (or play a low C on the piano first), then play these notes (":" used to separate hands):

Eb Bb : D F# A

James

[Super_Leslie3000]

The 13th chord is very common in gospel music.  It is the chord typically played on the bvii.  For example, in the key of Ab, it would be the chord played on Gb(or F#).  As was already stated, it can be heard on a lot of Hezekiah Walker songs, like
"I'll Make It".

The 11th chord is a little less common, but it can still be heard in songs with jazzy musicians.  That chord is frequently used with a #11... that is, the 11th tone is raised a half-step.  This is typically done to avoid clashing with the 3rd.  I most often hear the 11th chord used for the ii or the IV in a chord progression.  cas10a mentioned a good example with "Jesus is Real", the 11th chord is heard right in the intro.  Another good example would be "Running Back to You" by Commissioned (Also covered by Ruben Studdard).  It can be heard near the end of the verse, right before the chorus.  It is also the final chord heard in "Glorious" by Martha Munizzi. 

[blyempowered]

Love this! I'm going to try to implement more 11ths and 13ths in my playing where appropriate.