Lesson 33 · All 12 keys

Dominant 11th Chord Trainer

Learn how a Dominant 11th chord is built one semitone-count at a time — a dominant 9th chord (Lesson 32) with an 11th stacked on top — then put it to work with three MIDI exercises: playing all 12 Dominant 11th chords around the circle of fourths, and 5 jazz plus 5 gospel chord progressions that show off its color, in every key.

How a Dominant 11th chord is built

A Dominant 11th chord — written 11 (e.g. C11) — is a 6-note chord: a dominant 9th chord (Lesson 32) with an 11th stacked on top. Every 11 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.
  3. Count 3 more semitones up from the 3rd (7 semitones from the root) — the perfect 5th.
  4. Count 3 more semitones up from the 5th (10 semitones from the root) — the minor 7th.
  5. Count 4 more semitones up from the 7th (14 semitones from the root) — the 9th.
  6. Count 3 more semitones up from the 9th (17 semitones from the root — an octave plus a perfect 4th) — the 11th.
Example — F11: start on F, count 4 semitones right to reach A, 3 more to reach C, 3 more to reach E♭, 4 more to reach G, then 3 more to reach B♭ (an octave and a fourth above the root). F‑A‑C‑E♭‑G‑B♭ is the full 6-note F11 chord. The pattern 4, 3, 3, 4, 3 (17 semitones total from root to top) is what makes a chord an "11th chord."
This trainer plays the full 6-note textbook stack, but real players almost always drop the 3rd — it sits just a half step below the 11th and the two clash badly when played together. Without the 3rd, a dominant 11th chord actually sounds a lot like a dominant 7sus4 chord (Lesson 29) with a 9th added, which is exactly why it has that softer, "no 3rd" sus-flavored color instead of a sharp major-3rd bite.

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

Step 1 of 6
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Chord toneNoteSemitones from rootMIDI #

All 12 Dominant 11th chords at a glance

ChordRoot+4 semitones → Major 3rd+3 semitones → Perfect 5th+3 semitones → Minor 7th+4 semitones → 9th+3 semitones → 11th

This MIDI exercise plays all 12 Dominant 11th 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 6-note Dominant 11th chord (root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th, 9th, 11th together).

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

#ChordRootMajor 3rdPerfect 5thMinor 7th9th11th

Five jazz chord progressions built around the Dominant 11th chord. 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 Dominant 11th chord. 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