Chords
D# Eleventh
D# · A# · C# · E# · G#
The eleventh chord — a dominant stack reaching to the eleventh, usually voiced with the third removed.
D# Eleventh
D# · A# · C# · E# · G#
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | D#3 · A#3 · C#4 · E#4 · G#4 | |
| Open (drop 2) | D#3 · E#3 · A#3 · C#4 · G#4 | |
| Rootless | C#3 · E#3 · G#3 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
D# Eleventh (D#11) contains the notes D# · A# · C# · E# · G#, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords · extensions
Inversions
An inversion of D# Eleventh puts a chord tone other than D# in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales D# Eleventh belongs to.
In which keys
D# Eleventh is diatonic to 6 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
- F# majorVI11Tonic
- D# minorI11Tonic
- Db majorII11Subdominant
- Bb minorIV11Subdominant
- Ab majorV11Dominant
- F minorVII11Subdominant
Extensions beyond the seventh count when every note sits in the key.
Scales that contain it
D# Eleventh fits inside these scales, each built on D#.
- D# MinorD# · E# · F# · G# · A# · B · C#
- D# DorianD# · E# · F# · G# · A# · B# · C#
- D# PiongioD# · E# · G# · A# · B# · C#
Understanding the D# Eleventh chord
Names and symbols
D#11 is the chord symbol for D# Eleventh.
D# Eleventh and Eb Eleventh are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. Eb Eleventh
How it is built
On D# it is D# · A# · C# · E# · G#, 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 D#11?
- D#11 contains D# · A# · C# · E# · G#. 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 D# Eleventh chord?
- The D# Eleventh chord contains the notes D# · A# · C# · E# · G#: the root D# 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 D#, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the D# Eleventh chord?
- Measured from D#, the D# 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.