B11 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 B11 — open string voicings
B11 is B, F#, A, C# and E — B9 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.
B11 notes and formula
| B | F# | A | C# | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | ♭7 | 9 | 11 |
Dominant — but effectively a sus chord with a ninth.
Also written B9sus4 or B dominant 11. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play B11
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.
B11 has 6 of them, on strings 6-5-4-3-2, strings 5-4-3-2-1, the bottom four strings, strings 6-5-4-3-2-1, the top four strings and strings 6-4-3-2, from the 2nd fret up to the 6th — every inversion the chord has: F# in the bass, A in the bass and E in the bass. The one to learn first is the F# shape at the 2nd fret, which is the easiest grip here.
Start with x21200 — no barre and 2 open strings. 1 of the 6 shapes here sits in open position. 3 of the 6 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 1st fret to the 14th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| x21200 | open position | B, root position | E | 2 open strings |
| x22242 | 2nd fret | B, root position | F# | barred |
| x64455 | 4th fret | D# | A | all fretted |
| 777877 | 7th fret | B, root position | B | barred |
| 9-9-9-9-10-11 | 9th fret | C#, 9th in the bass | Eb | barred |
| x-14-13-14-12-12 | 12th fret | B, root position | E | all fretted |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 25 drop 2, 17 drop 3 and 13 rootless voicings, each on its own page.
How to use B11
B11 is the V of E, 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 E.
Voice by voice, B11 → E. One voice moves by a semitone, and 2 notes are common to both chords.
| In B11 | Moves | In E |
|---|---|---|
| B, the root | stays where it is | B, the fifth |
| F#, the fifth | falls a whole tone | E, the root |
| A, the flat seventh | falls a semitone | G#, the major third |
| C#, the ninth | falls a whole tone | B, the fifth |
| E, the eleventh | stays where it is | E, the root |
In which keys. Every note of B11 belongs to C# minor (the ♭VII), D major (the vi), E major (the V), F# minor (the iv), A major (the ii) and B minor (the i).
What to play over B11
Every note of B11 is in B mixolydian, B dorian and B natural minor.
Chords near B11
Change one note of B11 and you have Bsus2sus4 (drop the flat seventh), Bm9 (the fourth becomes a minor third), Bm11 (add the minor third), B7sus4 (drop the ninth) or B9 (the fourth becomes a major third).
B11 is a dominant chord — root, major third, fifth, minor seventh. Dominant seventh chords on every root.
On B11’s sound and use this page follows Barrie Nettles & Richard Graf, The Chord Scale Theory and Jazz Harmony (Advance Music, 1997). The shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.