What notes are in the C 9#5#11 chord?

The C 9#5#11 chord contains the notes C · E · G# · Bb · D · F#: the root C with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5A, 7m, 9M, 11A stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally C, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the C 9#5#11 chord?

Measured from C, the C 9#5#11 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5A, 7m, 9M, 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 C 9#5#11 chord?

On guitar the most common C 9#5#11 shape is 210110, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play C3 · E3 · G#3 · Bb3 · D4 · F#4 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.

C 9#5#11 Chord (C9#5#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	C3 · E3 · G#3 · Bb3 · D4 · F#4
Open (drop 2)	C3 · D3 · E3 · G#3 · Bb3 · F#4
Shell	C3 · E3 · Bb3
Rootless	E3 · Bb3 · D4 · F#4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

C 9#5#11 (C9#5#11) contains the notes C · E · G# · Bb · D · F#, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

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

Inversions

An inversion of C 9#5#11 puts a chord tone other than C in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales C 9#5#11 belongs to.

In which keys

C 9#5#11 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

C 9#5#11 fits inside these scales, each built on C.

C Locrian MajorC · D · E · F · Gb · Ab · Bb
C Leading Whole ToneC · D · E · F# · G# · Bb · B
C Lydian MinorC · D · E · F# · G · Ab · Bb
C Messiaen's Mode #6C · D · E · F · F# · G# · A# · B
C Messiaen's Mode #3C · D · Eb · E · F# · G · Ab · Bb · B

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with C 9#5#11: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

C9#5C · E · G# · Bb · D
C9b13C · E · Bb · D · Ab
C9b5C · E · Gb · Bb · D
C7#5C · E · G# · Bb
C7b13C · E · Bb · Ab
C7b5C · E · Gb · Bb
C9no5C · E · Bb · D
Cmaj#5add9C · E · G# · D
CaugC · E · G#
C7no5C · E · Bb
Cmajb5C · E · Gb

Richer

C9#11b13C · E · G · Bb · D · F# · Ab

Common substitutions

Gb9#5#11Gb · Bb · D · Fb · Ab · C
Gb9#5#11 shares the third and seventh of C9#5#11 a tritone away, so it can replace it as a dominant.
Gm7G · Bb · D · F
Gm7 is the ii chord that leads into C9#5#11 in a ii–V.

9#5#11 on every root

Db9#5#11 D9#5#11 Eb9#5#11 E9#5#11 F9#5#11 Gb9#5#11 G9#5#11 Ab9#5#11 A9#5#11 Bb9#5#11

Open it in a tool

Understanding the C 9#5#11 chord

Names and symbols

C9#5#11 is the chord symbol for C 9#5#11.

7♯5, +7 and aug7 usually all mean this chord: a dominant seventh on an augmented triad. Some books use aug7 for the major seventh on the augmented triad instead, so check which seventh a chart intends.

Common questions

What notes are in the C 9#5#11 chord?: The C 9#5#11 chord contains the notes C · E · G# · Bb · D · F#: the root C with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5A, 7m, 9M, 11A stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally C, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the C 9#5#11 chord?: Measured from C, the C 9#5#11 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5A, 7m, 9M, 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 C 9#5#11 chord?: On guitar the most common C 9#5#11 shape is 210110, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play C3 · E3 · G#3 · Bb3 · D4 · F#4 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.