The 7♯11♭13 dominant combines a lifted Lydian-style upper color with the darker pull of a flat thirteenth. This creates a dominant sonority that feels both bright and shadowed at the same time. It is highly expressive and especially useful when you want harmonic tension with complex emotional color.

Construction

A practical structure is 1-3-5-♭7-9-♯11-♭13 with voicing-dependent omissions. In C, representative tones include C-E-G-B♭-D-F♯-A♭. In real playing, 3 and ♭7 hold the function while ♯11 and ♭13 shape the character.

Usage

This chord works in modern jazz, film scoring, and advanced fusion where dominant tension should feel cinematic and nuanced rather than simply harsh. It is effective before strong arrivals to tonic or tonic-like targets.

Examples

Altered dominant before minor or modal resolution
Cinematic build-up with mixed bright/dark color
Fusion phrases needing high expressive contrast

Play

Voice ♯11 and ♭13 with clear spacing so they do not blur together in the middle register. Keep guide tones stable, and resolve at least one altered tone by semitone for convincing direction.