Em11 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 Em11 — open string voicings
Em11 is E, G, B, D, F# and A — Em9 with the eleventh added on top.
It sounds spacious and slightly unresolved. The eleventh is a whole step above the minor third, so unlike its major counterpart it fits without a fight.
Em11 notes and formula
| E | G | B | D | F# | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ♭3 | 5 | ♭7 | 9 | 11 |
Pre-dominant or minor tonic — it hangs rather than moves.
Also written Emin11, E-11 or E minor 11. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Em11
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.
Em11 has 6 of them, on strings 6-5-4-3-2-1, strings 6-4-3-2-1, strings 6-5-4-3-2 and strings 5-4-3-2-1, from the 2nd fret up to the 5th — every inversion the chord has: E in the bass, G in the bass, B in the bass and A in the bass. The one to learn first is the E shape at the 2nd fret, which is the easiest grip here.
3 of them sit on strings 6-5-4-3-2, so you can run the inversions up one set without changing strings — which is the whole reason to learn them as a family rather than as separate grips.
Start with 000002 — no barre and 5 open strings. 2 of the 10 shapes here sit in open position. 6 of the 10 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 2nd fret to the 15th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 000002 | open position | E, root position | F# | 5 open strings |
| xx2233 | 2nd fret | E, root position | G | all fretted |
| 005430 | open position | E, root position | E | 3 open strings |
| x75755 | 5th fret | E, root position | A | barred |
| x75775 | 5th fret | E, root position | A | barred |
| x77787 | 7th fret | E, root position | B | barred |
| 12-10-12-11-10-10 | 10th fret | E, root position | D | barred |
| 12-x-12-12-10-x | 10th fret | E, root position | A | barred |
| 12-12-12-12-12-14 | 12th fret | E, root position | F# | barred |
| x-x-14-14-15-15 | 14th fret | E, root position | G | all fretted |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 8 shell, 15 drop 2, 10 drop 3 and 25 rootless voicings, each on its own page.
Tensions. A shell of Em11, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the 13 (C#).
How to use Em11
How you get to it. The turn that lands on Em11 is F#m7♭5 to B7♭9: the ii and the V of E minor, which is where a minor tonic is usually arrived at rather than simply begun on.
In which keys. Every note of Em11 belongs to D major (the ii, the supertonic), E minor (the i, the tonic), G major (the vi, the submediant) and B minor (the iv, the subdominant).
What to play over Em11
Every note of Em11 is in E dorian and E natural minor.
Chords near Em11
Change one note of Em11 and you have Em9 (drop the fourth), EmMaj11 (the flat seventh becomes a major seventh) or E11 (drop the minor third).
Em11 is a minor chord — root, minor third, fifth. Minor chords on every root.
On Em11’s sound and use this page follows Mark Levine, The Jazz Theory Book (Sher Music, 1995). The shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.