| When starting to learn chords, most people will | | | | Chord Name = F11 |
| start with the basic major and minor chords, then | | | | Find the Fifth = C |
| on to seventh and minor seventh chords. You | | | | Make it Minor = Cm7 (with a F bass note) |
| might be surprised to learn that when you have | | | | Chord Name = G11 |
| mastered all twelve minor seventh chords you | | | | Find the Fifth = D |
| have also potentially learned twenty-four eleventh | | | | Make it Minor = Dm7 (with a G bass note) |
| chords. | | | | Chord Name = D11 |
| I love the sound of eleventh chords; they | | | | Find the Fifth = A |
| somehow manage to give a big sound and are | | | | Make it Minor = Am7 (with a D bass note) |
| great for key changes. If you want to listen to | | | | Chord Name = A11 |
| good examples of eleventh chords then listen to | | | | Find the Fifth = E |
| some early Barry Manilow music such as "Even | | | | Make it Minor = Em7 (with a A bass note) |
| Now", "Mandy" and "Cant smile without you". | | | | For the more technical minded. Let's look more |
| Listen in particular to the key changes and there | | | | closely at the structure of the 11th chord. If we |
| you have a good big sounding example of | | | | use C11 as our example, |
| eleventh chords in action. | | | | ROOT = C (played as a bass note or pedal) |
| So how to find the eleventh chord from a minor | | | | THIRD = not used |
| seventh chord. First, learn all twelve minor | | | | FIFTH = G |
| seventh chords. Second, make sure you know | | | | SEVENTH = Bb |
| where the fifth in any chord is. For example, the | | | | NINTH = D |
| fifth in Gm7 is "D", which is seven semitones | | | | ELEVENTH = F |
| from the root. ("G" root to "D" fifth is seven | | | | Notice the root is always played as a bass note |
| semitones) | | | | or bass pedal. This note is very important and |
| Now you are ready to play an eleventh chord. | | | | also helps the chord sound BIG. Try it. You should |
| Let's use G11 as our example. First work out | | | | also notice that the third is not used. This means |
| what the fifth is in a G chord, the answer is "D", | | | | that our C11 can also be Cm11 because; the only |
| then make that "D", a Dm7 chord and most | | | | difference between a major chord and a minor |
| importantly play a "G" bass note or pedal. So G11 | | | | chord is the third. |
| = Dm7 with a "G" bass. | | | | So there you have it. Twelve major 11th chords, |
| Here are some more examples: | | | | twelve minor 11th chords. That's a total of |
| Chord Name = C11 | | | | twenty-four 11th chords from twelve minor 7th |
| Find the Fifth = G | | | | chords. |
| Make it Minor = Gm7 (with a C bass note) | | | | |