Skip to content

Dominant 11th Chords on Piano

The dominant 11th chord stacks a perfect 11th (4th) on top of a dominant 9th — creating a thick, suspended, funky voicing. In practice, pianists drop notes to create manageable voicings, often omitting the 3rd to avoid the clash with the 11th.

Formula: Root – Major 3rd – Perfect 5th – Minor 7th – Major 9th – Perfect 11th
Scale degrees: 1–3–5–♭7–9–11
Sound: Thick, suspended, funky, complex
Symbol: 11 (C11)

The 3rd vs 11th clash: The natural 11th (F in C11) is only a semitone from the 3rd (E). This creates a harsh clash, so pianists typically drop the 3rd, making dom11 sound like a sus4 chord with extensions. For a clean dominant sound with the 11th, use 7♯11 instead.

Dominant 11th Chord in All 18 Keys