As the VB♭ major
- ii7Cm7
- V11F11
- Imaj7B♭maj7
F11 is the chord that wants to resolve, so ending the loop on it hands straight back to the top.
F11 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The F11 chord is a dominant eleventh chord built on the root note F. Its notes are F, C, E♭, G and B♭.
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
- F · C · E♭ · G · B♭
- Formula
- 1 · 5 · ♭7 · 9 · 11
- Semitones
- 0 · 7 · 10 · 14 · 17
- Note
- F
- Quality
- Dominant 11
- Symbol
- F11
F11 on piano
5 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play F11 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on F, index finger on C, middle finger on E♭, ring finger on G and little finger on B♭. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard E♭ and B♭ are black keys and F, C and G are white. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- F1
- C5
- E♭♭7
- G9
- B♭11
F11 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, F11 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. String 3 rings open.
F · C · E♭ · G · B♭
Try F11 on the virtual piano
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F11 chord notes
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | F | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | C | |
| ♭7 | Minor seventh | 10 | E♭(Eb) | |
| 9 | Major ninth | 14 | G | |
| 11 | Perfect eleventh | 17 | B♭(Bb) |
How to use the F11 chord
The F11 chord is built from a root, a perfect fifth, a minor seventh, a major ninth and a perfect eleventh. Start at the root F and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: F, C, E♭, G and B♭. 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.
How F11 differs from similar chords
F11 stacks a ninth and an eleventh on F7, and the eleventh is the same note as the fourth. Because that fourth clashes with the major third, the third is left out, so the chord sounds close to F7sus4 with a ninth. It differs from F13, which keeps the third and adds the sixth an octave up.
Where F11 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 F11 chord?
- The F11 chord contains F, C, E♭, G and B♭ (F, C, Eb, G and Bb in plain text).
- Is the F11 chord major or minor?
- F11 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 F11 on piano?
- Place your fingers on F, C, E♭, G and B♭ and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right. On the keyboard E♭ and B♭ are black keys and F, C and G are white.
- How do you play F11 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. String 3 rings open.
- What chords work well with F11?
- F11 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.