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D♭ Minor 11th

Minor 11th · D♭ – F♭ – A♭ – C♭ – E♭ – G♭ · intervals P1-m3-P5-m7-M9-P11

The D♭ Minor 11th chord (D♭m11) contains the notes D♭, F♭, A♭, C♭, E♭, and G♭. Its interval formula is R-m3-P5-m7-M9-P11. A minor 9th plus the 11th — rich and modern, common in jazz fusion and contemporary R&B.

C♯ Minor 11th
This is the same chord as C♯ Minor 11th — the same keys on the keyboard, spelled with sharps.

At the keyboard

Db · Fb · Ab · Cb · Eb · Gb
Maintained by Justin Evans, a pianist of 25 years
Maintained for accuracy · Last updated July 2026 · How we review
Flashcards · Chord
Three questions on D♭ Minor 11th
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D♭m11

The D♭ Minor 11th chord is a six-note chord made up of D♭, F♭, A♭, C♭, E♭, and G♭. It is built from a root, minor third, perfect fifth, minor seventh, major ninth, and perfect eleventh.

Construction

D♭ Minor 11th = Root + Minor 3rd + Perfect 5th + Minor 7th + Major 2nd + Perfect 4th = D♭ · F♭ · A♭ · C♭ · E♭ · G♭
NoteIntervalDegree
D♭Root1
F♭Minor 3rd♭3
A♭Perfect 5th5
C♭Minor 7th♭7
E♭Major 2nd9
G♭Perfect 4th11

Key Signature

A chord has no key signature of its own, but the D♭ Minor 11th is the tonic (i) chord of Db Minor, which shares the signature of its relative major, E Major — 4 sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯).

F♯C♯G♯D♯

Order of sharps

Sharps are added to a key signature in a fixed order. Each new sharp key adds the next sharp on the list.

F♯C♯G♯D♯A♯E♯B♯

Mnemonic: Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle

Chords in the Key of D♭ Minor

These are the triads built on each degree of the D♭ minor scale:

C1C2C3C4EC5C6C7C8C#G#
i — D♭ Minor (minor)
DegreeNumeralChordQuality
1iD♭ MinorMinor
2ii°E♭ DiminishedDiminished
3IIIE MajorMajor
4ivG♭ MinorMinor
5vA♭ MinorMinor
6VIA MajorMajor
7VIIB MajorMajor

Same Notes, Other Names

The notes D♭ – F♭ – A♭ – C♭ – E♭ – G♭ aren’t exclusive to this chord. Depending on which note is the bass and how the chord functions, the same pitches also spell:

D♭ Minor 11th — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the D♭ Minor 11th chord on piano?
The D♭ Minor 11th chord contains the notes D♭ – F♭ – A♭ – C♭ – E♭ – G♭. On piano, play these notes together to sound the chord.

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Chord FinderLook up any chord — see the notes, hear it, and play along.Chord DrillTimed drills to build speed and recognition across all chord types.Practice RoomPlug in a MIDI keyboard and get real-time feedback on every chord and scale.Circle of FifthsVisualize key relationships, relative minors, and key signatures.MIDI MonitorLive MIDI message stream with note names, velocity, and a scrolling staff.

References & Further Reading

The note names, intervals, fingering, and harmony on this chord page are grounded in the following sources. Public domain treatises and scores are linked to their full text; primary data is piano.org's own interval-derived reference dataset — continuously maintained and human-verified, with no fixed publication date.

  1. 1

    Jadassohn, Salomon(1883)

    A Manual of Harmony

    Public domain treatise
  2. 2

    Prout, Ebenezer(1889)

    Harmony: Its Theory and Practice

    Public domain treatise
  3. 3

    Beethoven, Ludwig van(1802)

    Piano Sonata No. 14 in C♯ minor, Op. 27 No. 2 ("Moonlight"), i

    Public domain score
  4. 4

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