B eleventh
How to play B11 — Eleventh
B11 (Eleventh)B · D♯ · F♯ · A · C♯ · E
Guitar samples: Acoustic guitar — University of Iowa (via tonejs-instruments, CC-BY 3.0)
B eleventh — notes and structure
The B11 chord extends the dominant chord through the eleventh — broad and suspended.
The B11 eleventh consists of the notes B, D♯, F♯, A, C♯, E. 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.
B11 stacks a major third (D♯), a perfect fifth (F♯), a minor seventh (A), a ninth (C♯) and an eleventh (E) above the root B.
The finder shows 2 ways to play B11 — an open-position shape reaching up to the 11th fret. 1 of them use a barre.
What key is B11 in?
Every note of B11 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.
- E major — the V chord
- C♯ minor — the VII chord
Chords that go with B11
In E major, the chords built on the first, fourth and fifth degrees carry most songs — put B11 next to these:
Frequently asked questions
- What notes are in the B eleventh chord?
- The B11 chord contains the notes B, D♯, F♯, A, C♯, E. It extends the dominant chord through the eleventh — broad and suspended.
- How many ways can you play B11 on guitar?
- 2 voicings are shown on this page — from open position up the neck — each with its own fingering diagram and audio.
- Is B11 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 B11 belong to?
- B11 fits E major (where it is the V chord), C♯ minor (where it is the VII chord) — every note of the chord is in those scales.