Chords
Bb Minor eleventh
Bb · Db · F · Ab · C · Eb
The minor eleventh — a m9 with an eleventh added. No clash, because the third is already minor.
Also written Bb-11
Bb Minor eleventh
Bb · Db · F · Ab · C · Eb
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | Bb3 · Db4 · F4 · Ab4 · C5 · Eb5 | |
| Open (drop 2) | Bb3 · C4 · Db4 · F4 · Ab4 · Eb5 | |
| Shell | Bb3 · Db4 · Ab4 | |
| Rootless | Db3 · Ab3 · C4 · Eb4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
Bb Minor eleventh (Bbm11) contains the notes Bb · Db · 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 Minor 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 Minor eleventh belongs to.
In which keys
Bb Minor eleventh is diatonic to 4 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
Extensions beyond the seventh count when every note sits in the key.
Scales that contain it
Bb Minor 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 Bebop MinorBb · C · Db · D · Eb · F · G · Ab
- Bb Minor BebopBb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab · A
- Bb Composite BluesBb · C · Db · D · Eb · Fb · F · G · Ab
Understanding the Bb Minor eleventh chord
Names and symbols
Bbm11 is the chord symbol for Bb Minor eleventh; it is also written Bb-11.
Bb Minor eleventh and A# Minor eleventh are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. A# Minor eleventh
How it is built
On Bb it is Bb · Db · F · Ab · C · Eb, stacking 1P · 3m · 5P · 7m · 9M · 11P. Unlike the major-quality eleventh, nothing here collides: the eleventh sits a whole tone above the minor third rather than a semitone above a major one.
How it is used
It is a modal jazz staple and a fixture of quartal piano voicings. Because it stacks cleanly it can be voiced as a pile of fourths, which is the McCoy Tyner sound.
Learn this properly
Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and SeventhsCommon questions
- What notes are in Bbm11?
- Bbm11 contains Bb · Db · F · Ab · C · Eb. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
- Why does an eleventh work on a minor chord but not a major one?
- Against a minor third the eleventh is a whole tone away. Against a major third it is a semitone away, which clashes.
- How is m11 usually voiced?
- Often as stacked fourths, dropping the fifth and sometimes the ninth — the quartal voicing associated with modal jazz.
- What notes are in the Bb Minor eleventh chord?
- The Bb Minor eleventh chord contains the notes Bb · Db · F · Ab · C · Eb: the root Bb with the intervals 1P, 3m, 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 Minor eleventh chord?
- Measured from Bb, the Bb Minor eleventh chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3m, 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.