A maj13 — Cello

A maj13 is built from A – B – C# – E – F# – G#. The maps below place those tones along the Cello's CGDA strings and name which finger reaches each one in position — every note plays back plucked, the way this site's audio speaks.

Read these as maps rather than as things to hold: a bow rests on one string, or leans between two neighbours, so what is playable at once is a PAIR — and the charts flag which adjacent pairs in each chord a single bow stroke can take. The rest of the chord arrives by rolling across the strings, or by letting the C or A ring open underneath the melody.

The Cello and the Viola share the same four letters, CGDA, but this one speaks an octave below — same map, different room, and a bow arm that has to travel further to cross the same interval.