A11 guitar chord
An open string left ringing against a fretted grip. Because it costs no finger, it sounds a note the closed shape has none left for -- a tension on top, or a pedal root underneath. Either a familiar grip with open strings added, or a shape so sparse the open strings carry the chord. These belong to their key rather than to a shape, so D, A, G and E have many and Eb a handful.
- Tap a note to hear it
- Arrows change position
- Fingers, notes or intervals
- Play the chord
About A11 — open string voicings
A11 is A, E, G, B and D — A9 with the eleventh added, and the third usually dropped.
It sounds suspended rather than tense. The eleventh sits a semitone above the major third, so the third is usually dropped; some shapes here keep it anyway.
Dominant — but effectively a sus chord with a ninth.
A11 notes and formula
| A | E | G | B | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | ♭7 | 9 | 11 |
Also written A9sus4 or A dominant 11. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play A11
An open string left ringing against a fretted grip. It costs no finger, so it can sound a note the closed shape has none left for: a tension on top, or a pedal root underneath.
These belong to their key rather than to a shape: they cannot be moved up the neck. D, A, G and E have many; E♭ has a handful.
A11 has 6 of them, on strings 6-5-4-3-2-1, strings 5-4-3-2-1, strings 6-5-4-3-2 and strings 6-4-3-2-1, from the 2nd fret up to the 5th — every inversion the chord has: A in the bass and E in the bass. The one to learn first is the A shape at the 2nd fret, which is the easiest grip here.
Five notes and four fingers, so something has to go. Keep B, D and G (they fix the quality). Let E and A go, in that order — a perfect fifth says nothing the root has not, and in a band the bass has the root.
All 7 common shapes as fret numbers, lowest string first. Hover or tap one to see it drawn.
- x00020, open position, A, root position, top note E, 4 open strings
- x42233, 2nd fret, C#, top note G, all fretted
- 540003, open position, A, root position, top note G, 3 open strings
- 555655, 5th fret, A, root position, top note A, barred
- 777789, 7th fret, B, 9th in the bass, top note Db, barred
- x-12-11-12-10-10, 10th fret, A, root position, top note D, all fretted
- x-12-12-12-14-12, 12th fret, A, root position, top note E, barred
How to use A11
A11 is the V of D, and that is where it goes if it goes anywhere: the third and the flat seventh are a tritone apart, and both resolve by a semitone into D.
In a phrase:Em7→A11→Dmaj7— the ii–V–I of D.
Voice by voice, A11 → D. One voice moves by a semitone, and 2 notes are common to both chords.
| In A11 | Moves | In D |
|---|---|---|
| A, the root | stays where it is | A, the fifth |
| E, the fifth | falls a whole tone | D, the root |
| G, the flat seventh | falls a semitone | F#, the major third |
| B, the ninth | falls a whole tone | A, the fifth |
| D, the eleventh | stays where it is | D, the root |
In which keys. Every note of A11 belongs to C major (the vi), D major (the V), E minor (the iv), G major (the ii), A minor (the i) and B minor (the ♭VII).
What to play over A11
Every note of A11 is in A mixolydian, A dorian and A natural minor.
Chords near A11
Change one note of A11 and you have Asus2sus4 (drop the flat seventh), Am9 (the eleventh becomes the minor third), Am11 (add the minor third), A7sus4 (drop the ninth) or A9 (the eleventh becomes the major third).
A11 is a dominant chord — root, major third, fifth, minor seventh. Dominant seventh chords on every root.
The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in how this site is built.