A eleventh
How to play A11 — Eleventh
A11 (Eleventh)A · C♯ · E · G · B · D
Guitar samples: Acoustic guitar — University of Iowa (via tonejs-instruments, CC-BY 3.0)
A eleventh — notes and structure
The A11 chord extends the dominant chord through the eleventh — broad and suspended.
The A11 eleventh consists of the notes A, C♯, E, G, B, D. Its interval structure is R–3–5–7–9–11 — the root, then each chord tone stacked above it. This is the same chord you see in the interactive finder above, drawn on the guitar fretboard with the root circled and every chord tone labelled.
A11 stacks a major third (C♯), a perfect fifth (E), a minor seventh (G), a ninth (B) and an eleventh (D) above the root A.
The finder shows 2 ways to play A11 — an open-position shape reaching up to the 12th fret. 1 of them use a barre.
What key is A11 in?
Every note of A11 belongs to the scales below, so the chord sounds at home in each of these keys — the roman numeral is the degree it sits on.
- D major — the V chord
- B minor — the VII chord
Chords that go with A11
In D major, the chords built on the first, fourth and fifth degrees carry most songs — put A11 next to these:
Frequently asked questions
- What notes are in the A eleventh chord?
- The A11 chord contains the notes A, C♯, E, G, B, D. It extends the dominant chord through the eleventh — broad and suspended.
- How many ways can you play A11 on guitar?
- 2 voicings are shown on this page — from open position up the neck — each with its own fingering diagram and audio.
- Is A11 a hard chord to play?
- Some voicings use a barre, which takes practice, but the chord is very playable once that shape is comfortable.
- What key does A11 belong to?
- A11 fits D major (where it is the V chord), B minor (where it is the VII chord) — every note of the chord is in those scales.