Chords
Bb Eleventh
Bb · F · Ab · C · Eb
The eleventh chord — a dominant stack reaching to the eleventh, usually voiced with the third removed.
Bb Eleventh
Bb · F · Ab · C · Eb
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | Bb3 · F4 · Ab4 · C5 · Eb5 | |
| Open (drop 2) | Bb3 · C4 · F4 · Ab4 · Eb5 | |
| Rootless | Ab3 · C4 · Eb4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
Bb Eleventh (Bb11) contains the notes Bb · F · Ab · C · Eb, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords · extensions
Inversions
An inversion of Bb Eleventh puts a chord tone other than Bb in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales Bb Eleventh belongs to.
In which keys
Bb Eleventh is diatonic to 6 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
- Db majorVI11Tonic
- Bb minorI11Tonic
- Ab majorII11Subdominant
- F minorIV11Subdominant
- Eb majorV11Dominant
- C minorVII11Subdominant
Extensions beyond the seventh count when every note sits in the key.
Scales that contain it
Bb Eleventh fits inside these scales, each built on Bb.
- Bb MinorBb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab
- Bb DorianBb · C · Db · Eb · F · G · Ab
- Bb MixolydianBb · C · D · Eb · F · G · Ab
- Bb PiongioBb · C · Eb · F · G · Ab
- Bb Mixolydian b6Bb · C · D · Eb · F · Gb · Ab
- Bb BebopBb · C · D · Eb · F · G · Ab · A
- Bb Bebop MinorBb · C · Db · D · Eb · F · G · Ab
- Bb Minor BebopBb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab · A
Understanding the Bb Eleventh chord
Names and symbols
Bb11 is the chord symbol for Bb Eleventh.
Bb Eleventh and A# Eleventh are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. A# Eleventh
How it is built
On Bb it is Bb · F · Ab · C · Eb, 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 Bb11?
- Bb11 contains Bb · F · Ab · C · Eb. 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 Bb Eleventh chord?
- The Bb Eleventh chord contains the notes Bb · F · Ab · C · Eb: the root Bb 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 Bb, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the Bb Eleventh chord?
- Measured from Bb, the Bb 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.