A11 A dominant eleventh chord
- Notes
- A C# E G B D
- Formula
- 1 3 5 b7 9 11
- Semitones
- 0 4 7 10 14 17 above the root
- Other symbols
- Adom11
A to C# is a major third (4 semitones), C# to E is a minor third (3 semitones), E to G is a minor third (3 semitones), G to B is a major third (4 semitones), B to D is a minor third (3 semitones). All six notes stacked in thirds, 1 3 5 b7 9 11. The eleventh, D, sits a minor ninth above the third C# and clashes with it, so in practice the third is left out: A E G B D is how A11 is usually played, the same notes as A9sus4. Leave out the fifth as well and the engine hears G/A instead (A G B D), so the guitar shapes here keep E.
A11 on the piano
Root position from A4: A4, C#5, E5, G5, B5, D6. Middle C is C4.
A11 on the guitar
Standard tuning (E A D G B E). Strings run low E on the left to high e on the right, frets downwards; × is a muted string, ○ an open string, and each dot shows the note it sounds, with the root in blue-green. Every shape below has A as its lowest note.
x 0 0 0 0 0 (low E to high e)
Sounds A2 D3 G3 B3 E4, third left out
5 5 5 7 5 7 (low E to high e)
Sounds A2 D3 G3 D4 E4 B4, third left out
The E-shape and A-shape grips are movable: an E-shape chord's root is the note under your first finger on the low E string, an A-shape chord's root is the note on the A string. Slide the same grip up or down to play dominant eleventh chords on other roots.
Inversions of A11
An inversion puts a note other than the root in the bass. The name is what semicord's chord finder calls those notes played bottom to top; a slash name like C/E means a C chord with E in the bass.
| Position | Notes, bass first | Named | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root position | A C# E G B D | A11 | |
| 1st inversion | C# E G B D A | A11/C# | |
| 2nd inversion | E G B D A C# | A11/E | |
| 3rd inversion | G B D A C# E | A11/G | |
| 4th inversion | B D A C# E G | A11/B | |
| 5th inversion | D A C# E G B | A11/D |
Where A11 fits
A11 is V11 in D major. The eleventh, D, is the same note as the fourth of a sus chord and wants to fall to the third C#; that is why the third is usually left out, and why A11 works as a softer V that delays the pull home. It often moves to A7 before the tonic.