As the VE major
- ii7F♯m7
- V11B11
- Imaj7Emaj7
B11 is the chord that wants to resolve, so ending the loop on it hands straight back to the top.
B11 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The B11 chord is a dominant eleventh chord built on the root note B. Its notes are B, F♯, A, C♯ and E.
Transpose
Quality
Short answer
Dominant eleventh chords sound wide and suspended. The eleventh sits a half step above the major third that would normally anchor the chord, a clash sharp enough that the third is left out entirely and the fifth, seventh, ninth and eleventh do the talking.
- Notes
- B · F♯ · A · C♯ · E
- Formula
- 1 · 5 · ♭7 · 9 · 11
- Semitones
- 0 · 7 · 10 · 14 · 17
- Note
- B
- Quality
- Dominant 11
- Symbol
- B11
B11 on piano
5 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play B11 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on B, index finger on F♯, middle finger on A, ring finger on C♯ and little finger on E. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- B1
- F♯5
- A♭7
- C♯9
- E11
B11 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, B11 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. Strum only the strings marked as active in the diagram.
B11 chord notes
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | B | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | F♯(F#) | |
| ♭7 | Minor seventh | 10 | A | |
| 9 | Major ninth | 14 | C♯(C#) | |
| 11 | Perfect eleventh | 17 | E |
How to use the B11 chord
The B11 chord is built from a root, a perfect fifth, a minor seventh, a major ninth and a perfect eleventh. Start at the root B and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: B, F♯, A, C♯ and E. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Dominant eleventh chords show up in modal jazz and gospel as a suspended, unresolved colour, often standing in for a sus4 with extra shimmer on top. They work best in slow-moving vamps rather than fast cadences.
Where B11 is used
A dominant chord wants to resolve. Its home is the V of a major key - and the I of a blues, where the pull never lets up.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the B11 chord?
- The B11 chord contains B, F♯, A, C♯ and E (B, F#, A, C# and E in plain text).
- Is the B11 chord major or minor?
- B11 is a dominant eleventh chord. Dominant eleventh chords sound wide and suspended. The eleventh sits a half step above the major third that would normally anchor the chord, a clash sharp enough that the third is left out entirely and the fifth, seventh, ninth and eleventh do the talking.
- How do you play B11 on piano?
- Place your fingers on B, F♯, A, C♯ and E and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right.
- How do you play B11 on guitar?
- B11 is typically played with the fingering shown in the diagram above. If one of the chord tones lines up with an open string, an open position is worth trying too.
- What chords work well with B11?
- B11 pairs naturally with the chords in the related section: a perfect fifth up or down, the relative major or minor, and anything sharing two notes with it.