As the VF major
- ii7Gm7
- V11C11
- Imaj7Fmaj7
C11 is the chord that wants to resolve, so ending the loop on it hands straight back to the top.
C11 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The C11 chord is a dominant eleventh chord built on the root note C. Its notes are C, G, B♭, D and F.
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
- C · G · B♭ · D · F
- Formula
- 1 · 5 · ♭7 · 9 · 11
- Semitones
- 0 · 7 · 10 · 14 · 17
- Note
- C
- Quality
- Dominant 11
- Symbol
- C11
C11 on piano
5 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play C11 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on C, index finger on G, middle finger on B♭, ring finger on D and little finger on F. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- C1
- G5
- B♭♭7
- D9
- F11
C11 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, C11 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. This one is a barre shape: keep the index finger flat across the fretboard and curve the others so they don't mute the strings next to them. Strum only the strings marked as active in the diagram.
C11 chord notes
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | C | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | G | |
| ♭7 | Minor seventh | 10 | B♭(Bb) | |
| 9 | Major ninth | 14 | D | |
| 11 | Perfect eleventh | 17 | F |
How to use the C11 chord
The C11 chord is built from a root, a perfect fifth, a minor seventh, a major ninth and a perfect eleventh. Start at the root C and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: C, G, B♭, D and F. 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 C11 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 C11 chord?
- The C11 chord contains C, G, B♭, D and F (C, G, Bb, D and F in plain text).
- Is the C11 chord major or minor?
- C11 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 C11 on piano?
- Place your fingers on C, G, B♭, D and F 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 C11 on guitar?
- C11 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 C11?
- C11 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.