Am11

Am11 is A, C, E, G, B and D, a minor eleventh. The shape this page opens on is written x00010, lowest string first.

Also written Amin11, A-11 or A minor 11. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.

There are 8 common shapes for Am11 on the guitar, and 63 derived voicings in 5 families.

In which keys. Every note of Am11 belongs to C major (the vi), E minor (the iv), G major (the ii) and A minor (the i).

The common shapes, written lowest string first: x00010, 535433, 5x553x, 555557, xx7788, x-12-10-12-10-10, x-12-10-12-12-10, x-12-12-12-13-12.

Shell. Root, third and seventh: the guide tones fix the quality, so the fifth is dropped. That is what leaves a string free, so pick a tension to put on top. Am11 has x0553x, 5x553x, 5357xx, x-12-x-12-13-10, 5-10-10-7-x-x, x-x-7-5-8-10, x-12-10-12-15-x.

Drop 2. A close-position chord with the second voice from the top lowered an octave. Sits on four adjacent strings. Am11 has xx0213, x0001x, 3302xx, xx5535, 5555xx, xx7788, 10-12-10-12-x-x, x-x-10-12-10-10.

Drop 3. The third voice from the top lowered an octave. The dropped voice becomes the bass, which is why a string is skipped. Am11 has 3x021x, x3x233, 5x553x, x5x585, 8x778x, x-10-x-7-10-8, 10-x-10-12-10-x, x-12-x-12-13-10.

Rootless. The root left to the bass player. Frees a finger for a tension. Am11 has x2001x, xx0010, x3203x, x3543x, x5555x, xx9788, x-x-10-9-8-10, x-x-10-12-12-10.

Open string. 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. Am11 has 555500, 5x5530, x02533, 030233, 03543x, x35430.

Tensions. A shell of Am11, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the 13 (F#).

The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.