Chords
F# Eleventh
F# · C# · E · G# · B
The eleventh chord — a dominant stack reaching to the eleventh, usually voiced with the third removed.
F# Eleventh
F# · C# · E · G# · B
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | F#3 · C#4 · E4 · G#4 · B4 | |
| Open (drop 2) | F#3 · G#3 · C#4 · E4 · B4 | |
| Rootless | E3 · G#3 · B3 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
F# Eleventh (F#11) contains the notes F# · C# · E · G# · B, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords · extensions
Inversions
An inversion of F# Eleventh puts a chord tone other than F# in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales F# Eleventh belongs to.
In which keys
F# Eleventh is diatonic to 6 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
- A majorVI11Tonic
- F# minorI11Tonic
- E majorII11Subdominant
- C# minorIV11Subdominant
- B majorV11Dominant
- G# minorVII11Subdominant
Extensions beyond the seventh count when every note sits in the key.
Scales that contain it
F# Eleventh fits inside these scales, each built on F#.
- F# MinorF# · G# · A · B · C# · D · E
- F# DorianF# · G# · A · B · C# · D# · E
- F# MixolydianF# · G# · A# · B · C# · D# · E
- F# PiongioF# · G# · B · C# · D# · E
- F# Mixolydian b6F# · G# · A# · B · C# · D · E
- F# BebopF# · G# · A# · B · C# · D# · E · E#
- F# Bebop MinorF# · G# · A · A# · B · C# · D# · E
- F# Minor BebopF# · G# · A · B · C# · D · E · E#
Understanding the F# Eleventh chord
Names and symbols
F#11 is the chord symbol for F# Eleventh.
F# Eleventh and Gb Eleventh are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. Gb Eleventh
How it is built
On F# it is F# · C# · E · G# · B, 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 F#11?
- F#11 contains F# · C# · E · G# · B. 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 F# Eleventh chord?
- The F# Eleventh chord contains the notes F# · C# · E · G# · B: the root F# 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 F#, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the F# Eleventh chord?
- Measured from F#, the F# 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.