Chords
A# Eleventh
A# · E# · G# · B# · D#
The eleventh chord — a dominant stack reaching to the eleventh, usually voiced with the third removed.
A# Eleventh
A# · E# · G# · B# · D#
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | A#3 · E#4 · G#4 · B#5 · D#5 | |
| Open (drop 2) | A#3 · E#4 · G#4 · B#4 · D#5 | |
| Rootless | G#3 · B#4 · D#4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
A# Eleventh (A#11) contains the notes A# · E# · G# · B# · 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# Eleventh 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# Eleventh belongs to.
Understanding the A# Eleventh chord
Names and symbols
A#11 is the chord symbol for A# Eleventh.
A# Eleventh and Bb Eleventh are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. Bb Eleventh
How it is built
On A# it is A# · E# · G# · B# · D#, 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 A#11?
- A#11 contains A# · E# · G# · B# · D#. 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 A# Eleventh chord?
- The A# Eleventh chord contains the notes A# · E# · G# · B# · D#: the root A# 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 A#, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the A# Eleventh chord?
- Measured from A#, the A# 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.