A Dominant 11th (A11)

1+3+5+b7+9+11
AEGBDC#
4 4
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Notes in A Dominant 11th

A (root)C#EGBD

Inversions

Same notes as A Dominant 11th, with a different chord tone as the lowest note. Useful for smoother movement between chords instead of jumping around the keyboard.

Root position

A in the bass

AEGBDC#

1st inversion

C# in the bass

EGBDAC#

2nd inversion

E in the bass

EGBDAC#

3rd inversion

G in the bass

GBDAEC#

4th inversion

B in the bass

BDAEGC#

5th inversion

D in the bass

DAEGBC#

Open voicings

A close-position chord like A Dominant 11th can sound cluttered in the middle of the keyboard. Jazz players open it up by dropping one note down an octave, spreading the same notes wider without changing the chord.

Drop 2

A on the bottom

ABEGDC#

Drop 3

G on the bottom

GAEBDC#

Play A, C#, E, G, B and D together and you get A Dominant 11th.

A dominant ninth chord extended with an eleventh, though in practice pianists often leave the third out since it sits a half step below the eleventh and the two can clash. What's left has a fuller, more suspended color than a plain dominant chord, and it turns up constantly in funk and modal jazz.

Difficulty: Advanced. Category: Extended chords. Click any key on the diagram above to hear that single note.