Chord type
Major 11th Chords on Piano
The major 11th chord adds a perfect 11th to a major 9th, creating a lush, complex voicing with Lydian overtones. Like the dominant 11th, the natural 11th clashes with the major 3rd, so pianists often raise the 11th (♯11) or drop the 3rd for practical voicings.
Pick a key to hear and see it below. Each key opens a full reference entry with a keyboard diagram, audio, inversions, fingerings, and notation.
Featured key
C Major 11th Chord
Notes: C - E - G - B - D - F
Choose a key
Open the full C Major 11th Chord reference ›Formula: Root – Major 3rd – Perfect 5th – Major 7th – Major 9th – Perfect 11th
Scale degrees: 1–3–5–7–9–11
Sound: Lush, complex, quartal, Lydian
Symbol: maj11, M11 (Cmaj11)
Practical voicing: With six notes and a 3rd/11th clash, practical maj11 voicings drop the 3rd or 5th. A common approach is quartal voicing (stacking 4ths): this produces the open, floating sound associated with modern jazz. Many pianists prefer Lydian chords (maj7♯11) to avoid the clash entirely.
Major 11th Chord in All 18 Keys
All 18 spellings, ♯ and ♭ keys listed separately.
C Major 11th ChordNotes: C – E – G – B – D – FC♯ Major 11th ChordNotes: C♯ – E♯ – G♯ – B♯ – D♯ – F♯D♭ Major 11th ChordNotes: D♭ – F – A♭ – C – E♭ – G♭D Major 11th ChordNotes: D – F♯ – A – C♯ – E – GD♯ Major 11th ChordNotes: D♯ – F♯♯ – A♯ – C♯♯ – E♯ – G♯E♭ Major 11th ChordNotes: E♭ – G – B♭ – D – F – A♭E Major 11th ChordNotes: E – G♯ – B – D♯ – F♯ – AF Major 11th ChordNotes: F – A – C – E – G – B♭F♯ Major 11th ChordNotes: F♯ – A♯ – C♯ – E♯ – G♯ – BG♭ Major 11th ChordNotes: G♭ – B♭ – D♭ – F – A♭ – C♭G Major 11th ChordNotes: G – B – D – F♯ – A – CG♯ Major 11th ChordNotes: G♯ – B♯ – D♯ – F♯♯ – A♯ – C♯A♭ Major 11th ChordNotes: A♭ – C – E♭ – G – B♭ – D♭A Major 11th ChordNotes: A – C♯ – E – G♯ – B – DA♯ Major 11th ChordNotes: A♯ – C♯♯ – E♯ – G♯♯ – B♯ – D♯B♭ Major 11th ChordNotes: B♭ – D – F – A – C – E♭B Major 11th ChordNotes: B – D♯ – F♯ – A♯ – C♯ – EC♭ Major 11th ChordNotes: C♭ – E♭ – G♭ – B♭ – D♭ – F♭