What notes are in the A Lydian dominant seventh chord?

The A Lydian dominant seventh chord contains the notes A · C# · E · G · D#: the root A with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 7m, 11A stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally A, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the A Lydian dominant seventh chord?

Measured from A, the A Lydian dominant seventh chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 7m, 11A. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.

How do I play the A Lydian dominant seventh chord?

On guitar the most common A Lydian dominant seventh shape is x01020, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play A3 · C#4 · E4 · G4 · D#5 with the right hand, or move the root down into the left hand and keep the rest above it. Every shape on this page plays when you press it.

A Lydian Dominant Seventh Chord (A7#11): Notes, Piano & Guitar

Play it on your instrument

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Voicings on the piano

Voicing	Notes	Play it on your instrument
Closed, root position	A3 · C#4 · E4 · G4 · D#5
Open (drop 2)	G3 · A3 · C#4 · E4 · D#5
Shell	A3 · C#4 · G4
Rootless	G4 · B4 · D#5 · F##5

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

A Lydian dominant seventh (A7#11) contains the notes A · C# · E · G · D#, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords · extensions

Inversions

An inversion of A Lydian dominant seventh puts a chord tone other than A in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales A Lydian dominant seventh belongs to.

In which keys

A Lydian dominant seventh is not diatonic to any major or minor key: at least one of its notes lies outside every one of them.

Scales that contain it

A Lydian dominant seventh fits inside these scales, each built on A.

A Lydian DominantA · B · C# · D# · E · F# · G
A Half-Whole DiminishedA · Bb · C · C# · D# · E · F# · G
A Lydian MinorA · B · C# · D# · E · F · G
A Hungarian MajorA · B# · C# · D# · E · F# · G
A FlamencoA · Bb · C · C# · D# · E · G
A Composite BluesA · B · C · C# · D · Eb · E · F# · G
A Messiaen's Mode #3A · B · C · C# · D# · E · F · G · G#

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with A Lydian dominant seventh: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

A7A · C# · E · G
A7b5A · C# · Eb · G
AA · C# · E
A7no5A · C# · G
Amajb5A · C# · Eb
A5A · E

Richer

A7#11b13A · C# · E · G · D# · F
A7#9#11A · C# · E · G · B# · D#
A9#11A · C# · E · G · B · D#
A7b9#11A · C# · E · G · Bb · D#
A13#9#11A · C# · E · G · B# · D# · F#
A7#9#11b13A · C# · E · G · B# · D# · F

Common substitutions

Eb7#11Eb · G · Bb · Db · A
Eb7#11 shares the third and seventh of A7#11 a tritone away, so it can replace it as a dominant.
Em7E · G · B · D
Em7 is the ii chord that leads into A7#11 in a ii–V.

Lydian dominant seventh on every root

C7#11 Db7#11 D7#11 Eb7#11 E7#11 F7#11 F#7#11 Gb7#11 G7#11 Ab7#11 Bb7#11 B7#11

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Understanding the A Lydian dominant seventh chord

Names and symbols

A7#11 is the chord symbol for A Lydian dominant seventh; it is also written A7#4.

Common questions

What notes are in the A Lydian dominant seventh chord?: The A Lydian dominant seventh chord contains the notes A · C# · E · G · D#: the root A with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 7m, 11A stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally A, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the A Lydian dominant seventh chord?: Measured from A, the A Lydian dominant seventh chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 7m, 11A. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.
How do I play the A Lydian dominant seventh chord?: On guitar the most common A Lydian dominant seventh shape is x01020, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play A3 · C#4 · E4 · G4 · D#5 with the right hand, or move the root down into the left hand and keep the rest above it. Every shape on this page plays when you press it.