Chords
G# Eleventh
G# · D# · F# · A# · C#
The eleventh chord — a dominant stack reaching to the eleventh, usually voiced with the third removed.
G# Eleventh
G# · D# · F# · A# · C#
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | G#3 · D#4 · F#4 · A#4 · C#5 | |
| Open (drop 2) | G#3 · A#3 · D#4 · F#4 · C#5 | |
| Rootless | F#3 · A#3 · C#4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
G# Eleventh (G#11) contains the notes G# · D# · F# · A# · C#, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords · extensions
Inversions
An inversion of G# Eleventh puts a chord tone other than G# in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales G# Eleventh belongs to.
In which keys
G# Eleventh is diatonic to 6 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
- B majorVI11Tonic
- G# minorI11Tonic
- F# majorII11Subdominant
- D# minorIV11Subdominant
- Db majorV11Dominant
- Bb minorVII11Subdominant
Extensions beyond the seventh count when every note sits in the key.
Scales that contain it
G# Eleventh fits inside these scales, each built on G#.
- G# MinorG# · A# · B · C# · D# · E · F#
- G# DorianG# · A# · B · C# · D# · E# · F#
- G# MixolydianG# · A# · B# · C# · D# · E# · F#
- G# PiongioG# · A# · C# · D# · E# · F#
- G# Mixolydian b6G# · A# · B# · C# · D# · E · F#
- G# Bebop MinorG# · A# · B · B# · C# · D# · E# · F#
- G# Composite BluesG# · A# · B · B# · C# · D · D# · E# · F#
Understanding the G# Eleventh chord
Names and symbols
G#11 is the chord symbol for G# Eleventh.
G# Eleventh and Ab Eleventh are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. Ab Eleventh
How it is built
On G# it is G# · D# · F# · A# · C#, 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 G#11?
- G#11 contains G# · D# · F# · A# · C#. 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 G# Eleventh chord?
- The G# Eleventh chord contains the notes G# · D# · F# · A# · C#: the root G# 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 G#, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the G# Eleventh chord?
- Measured from G#, the G# 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.