Lesson 55 · All 12 keys

Add11 Chord Trainer

Learn how a Add11 chord (add4) is built one semitone-count at a time — a major triad (Lesson 8) with an 11th (4th) added, keeping the 3rd — distinct from a sus4 chord (Lesson 28), which removes the 3rd — then put it to work with three MIDI exercises: playing all 12 add11 chords around the circle of fourths, and 5 jazz plus 5 gospel chord progressions that show off its color, in every key.

How a Add11 chord (add4) is built

A Add11 chord (add4) — written add11 (e.g. Cadd11) — is a 4-note chord: a major triad (Lesson 8) with an 11th (4th) added, keeping the 3rd — distinct from a sus4 chord (Lesson 28), which removes the 3rd. Every add11 chord — in any of the 12 keys — is built the exact same way, by counting semitones to the right from a root note:

  1. The starting note — this note names the chord.
  2. Count 4 semitones up from the root — the major 3rd, kept in (unlike a sus4 chord, which removes it).
  3. Count 1 more semitone up from the 3rd (5 semitones from the root) — the 11th (the same pitch as a perfect 4th), added right alongside the 3rd rather than replacing it.
  4. Count 2 more semitones up from the 11th (7 semitones from the root) — the perfect 5th.
Example — Cadd11: start on C, count 4 semitones right to reach E, count 1 semitone more to reach F, count 2 semitones more to reach G. C‑E‑F‑G is the Cadd11 chord.
An add11 chord is easy to confuse with a sus4 chord (Lesson 28), but they are opposites: a sus4 chord *replaces* the 3rd with a 4th, while an add11 chord keeps the 3rd and *adds* the 4th (11th) right next to it, creating a half-step clash between the 3rd and 11th that a sus4 chord never has.

Try it: pick a root and build the chord step by step

Step 1 of 4
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Chord toneNoteSemitones from rootMIDI #

All 12 add11 chords at a glance

ChordRootMajor 3rd11th (Perfect 4th)Perfect 5th

This MIDI exercise plays all 12 add11 chords, one after another, moving around the circle of fourths — each chord's root sits a perfect 4th (5 semitones) above the last one: C → F → B♭ → E♭ → A♭ → D♭ → G♭/F♯ → B → E → A → D → G → back to C. Every chord is played as a full 4-note Add11 chord (add4) (root, major 3rd, 11th (perfect 4th), perfect 5th together).

Chord 1 of 12
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The 12 chords, in circle-of-fourths order

#ChordRootMajor 3rd11th (Perfect 4th)Perfect 5th

Five jazz chord progressions built around the Add11 chord (add4). Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
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Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes

Five gospel chord progressions built around the Add11 chord (add4). Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
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Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes