Chords
Ab Eleventh
Ab · Eb · Gb · Bb · Db
The eleventh chord — a dominant stack reaching to the eleventh, usually voiced with the third removed.
Ab Eleventh
Ab · Eb · Gb · Bb · Db
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | Ab3 · Eb4 · Gb4 · Bb4 · Db5 | |
| Open (drop 2) | Ab3 · Bb3 · Eb4 · Gb4 · Db5 | |
| Rootless | Gb3 · Bb3 · Db4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
Ab Eleventh (Ab11) contains the notes Ab · Eb · Gb · Bb · Db, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords · extensions
Inversions
An inversion of Ab Eleventh puts a chord tone other than Ab in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales Ab Eleventh belongs to.
In which keys
Ab Eleventh is diatonic to 6 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
- B majorVI11Tonic
- G# minorI11Tonic
- F# majorII11Subdominant
- D# minorIV11Subdominant
- Db majorV11Dominant
- Bb minorVII11Subdominant
Extensions beyond the seventh count when every note sits in the key.
Scales that contain it
Ab Eleventh fits inside these scales, each built on Ab.
- Ab MinorAb · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb
- Ab DorianAb · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F · Gb
- Ab MixolydianAb · Bb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb
- Ab PiongioAb · Bb · Db · Eb · F · Gb
- Ab Mixolydian b6Ab · Bb · C · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb
- Ab BebopAb · Bb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb · G
- Ab Bebop MinorAb · Bb · Cb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb
- Ab Minor BebopAb · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb · G
Understanding the Ab Eleventh chord
Names and symbols
Ab11 is the chord symbol for Ab Eleventh.
Ab Eleventh and G# Eleventh are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. G# Eleventh
How it is built
On Ab it is Ab · Eb · Gb · Bb · Db, stacking 1P · 5P · 7m · 9M · 11P. In full it contains six notes, which is more than most textures want.
How it is used
The eleventh sits a semitone above the major third, so the two clash. In practice the third is dropped, at which point the chord is effectively a 9sus4 — which is how most players voice it and how most charts intend it.
Learn this properly
Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and SeventhsCommon questions
- What notes are in Ab11?
- Ab11 contains Ab · Eb · Gb · Bb · Db. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
- Why is the third usually omitted from an 11 chord?
- Because the eleventh is a semitone above the major third and the two clash. Removing the third leaves a clean, open sound.
- Is an 11 chord the same as a 9sus4?
- Voiced without the third, effectively yes — which is why many charts write the sus form instead.
- What notes are in the Ab Eleventh chord?
- The Ab Eleventh chord contains the notes Ab · Eb · Gb · Bb · Db: the root Ab with the intervals 1P, 5P, 7m, 9M, 11P stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Ab, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the Ab Eleventh chord?
- Measured from Ab, the Ab Eleventh chord stacks the intervals 1P, 5P, 7m, 9M, 11P. 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.