music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

, an eleventh chord is a chord that contains the

tertian In music theory, ''tertian'' (, "of or concerning thirds") describes any piece, chord, counterpoint etc. constructed from the intervals of (major and minor) thirds. An interval such as that between the notes A and C encompasses 3 semitone i ...

extension Extension, extend or extended may refer to: Mathematics Logic or set theory * Axiom of extensionality * Extensible cardinal * Extension (model theory) * Extension (proof theory) * Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that ...

of the

eleventh In music theory, an eleventh is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a fourth. A perfect eleventh spans 17 and the augmented eleventh 18 semitones, or 10 steps in a diatonic scale. Since there are only seven degrees in a diaton ...

. Typically found in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, an eleventh chord also usually includes the seventh and

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

, and elements of the basic

triad Triad or triade may refer to: * a group of three Humanities * Trichotomy (philosophy), often called triads * Triad (sociology), a group of three people as a unit of study * Triad (relationship), or ''ménage à trois'' Music * Triad (music ...

structure. Variants include the dominant eleventh (C¹¹, C–E–G–B–D–F), minor eleventh (Cm¹¹, C–E–G–B–D–F), and major eleventh chord (Cmaj¹¹, C–E–G–B–D–F).Smith, Johnny (1980). ''Mel Bay's Complete Johnny Smith Approach to Guitar'', p.231. . Using an augmented eleventh produces the dominant sharp eleventh (C⁹¹¹, C–E–G–B–D–F) and major ninth sharp eleventh (Cmaj⁹¹¹, C–E–G–B–D–F) chords. A perfect eleventh creates a highly dissonant

minor ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

interval with the

major third In music theory, a third is a Interval (music), musical interval encompassing three staff positions (see Interval (music)#Number, Interval number for more details), and the major third () is a third spanning four Semitone, half steps or two ...

of major and dominant chords. To reduce this dissonance the third is often omitted (such as for example in the dominant eleventh chord that can be heard 52seconds into the song "

Sun King LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monar ...

" on The Beatles' ''

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969, by Apple Records. It is the last album the group recorded, although '' Let It Be'' (1970) was the last album completed before th ...

'' album), turning the chord into a suspended ninth chord (e.g. C^9sus4, C–G–B–D–F), which can be also notated as Gm⁷/C. Another solution to this dissonance is altering the third or eleventh factor of the chord to turn the problematic minor ninth interval within the chord into a major ninth.Miller, Michael (2004). ''Complete Idiot's Guide to Solos and Improvisation'', p.52. . A dominant eleventh chord can be altered by lowering the third by a semitone for a minor eleventh chord, or by raising the eleventh by a semitone for a dominant sharp eleventh chord, implying the

lydian dominant In music, the acoustic scale, overtone scale, Lydian dominant scale (Lydian 7 scale), or the Mixolydian 4 scale is a seven-note synthetic scale. It is the fourth mode of the ascending melodic minor scale. : This differs from the major scal ...

mode. As its upper extensions (7th, 9th, 11th) constitute a triad, a dominant eleventh chord with the third and fifth omitted can be notated as a

compound chord In music, especially modern popular music, a slash chord or slashed chord, also compound chord, is a chord whose bass note or inversion is indicated by the addition of a slash and the letter of the bass note after the root note letter. It does no ...

with a bass note. So C–B–D–F is written as B/C, emphasizing the ambiguous dominant/subdominant character of this voicing. In the

common practice period In Western classical music, the common practice period (CPP) was the period of about 250 years during which the tonal system was regarded as the only basis for composition. It began when composers' use of the tonal system had clearly supersede ...

, the root, 7th, 9th, and 11th are the most common factors present in the V¹¹ chord, with the 3rd and 5th typically omitted. The eleventh is usually retained as a common tone when the chord resolves to I or i.Benward & Saker (2009). Music in Theory and Practice: Volume II, p.183-84. Eighth Edition. .

Relation to suspended fourth chord

The fourth degree is octave equivalent to the eleventh. The dominant eleventh chord could be alternatively notated as the very unorthodox ninth added fourth chord (C^9add4), from where omitting the 3rd produces the more common ninth suspended fourth chord (C^9sus4, also known as the jazz sus chord).

References

{{Chords Chord factors

Relation to suspended fourth chord

See also

References