And how to use them!
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The best forms of the various 11th chords are impossible to find for the ukulele - and that's because a different spelling is typically used for the different forms, and when someone that does not understand these chords makes up chord diagrams, they wind up with a hideous sounding chord that may only be usable for a horror movie soundtrack!
Each form - Major, minor and dominant 11th chords use different notes - and if you understand what notes are to be used for each chord and what forms to use these are very usable and sound beautiful.
The reason I decided to write this post is because whenever 11th chords come up, the information provided is completely wrong - A popular musician recently said: "11th chords are not used much, often a 13th would be used instead!" He must not play a lot of jazz or have not looked at the pop songs that use these chords (Prince, Beatles etc...). It was then I knew I had to help people to understand these awesome chords...
An 11th is a 4th and a 13th is a 6th, a 4th will have a dissonant sound and a 6th will have a restful sound - and within the chords they'll take on different or additional qualities - but it's important to understand the the interval we're adding in each chord has a very different quality - therefore different uses.
The 11 or #11 creates tension or dissonance...
Relationship to the SUS 4: An 11 chord (not a #11) is the same chord as a suspended 4 (remember a 4th is an 11th) chord if it dose not have a 3rd (EX: sus4, 9sus4 or 7sus4 depending on spelling - sus = suspended). A suspended chord usually resolves to an unsuspended version of the same chord: D7sus4 - D7. If the chord is used in this manner it would be called an sus chord, if not, an 11th (although it still may be called an sus sometimes). in measure 4 of DANNY BOY (PDF is FREE here) we see a D7sus4 resolve to a D7 (both chords with no root).
See a minor 11 and a sus4 used in a song: Jazz arrangement of SILENT NIGHT - there are some samples here. Play the parts pictured (a few parts of the song are pictured) if you can and take notice the different sound qualities of the 11, sus4 and the 13 here.
NONE OF THE CHORDS HERE COULD BE SUS 4 CHORDS because they either have a 3rd (minor 11) or a #11 (maj9#11, 11+)
So it's important to get to know and understand these mysterious creatures!
We'll look at these in three categories - because they are 3 completely different chords - the MAJOR, MINOR and DOMINANT versions....
Minor 11's and Major 9#11's are very common - dominant 11+'s are fairly uncommon.
I hope that with the information provided here you can easily begin to use these beautiful chords.
PDF charts linked here are for patreon members - if you don't want to join me on patreon simply use the full color charts that appear here for FREE...
Minor 11 chords
We've seen these before here...
With minor 11 chords we'll have a 3rd, using a 3rd gets tricky in the other forms - that's what makes these chords unique...
(from a previous post - on minor 11's only) Like the minor 9 - Interestingly enough, many popular chord books do not have the minor 11 in them!
Also - 11 chords in general usually appear with weird spellings (the notes included in the chords are not what they should be). For example: The spelling for a dominant 11 is completely different (they usually will not have a 3rd due to the dissonance between the major 3rd and the 9) and for major and dominant chords usually we find a #11 (#11 solves the dissonance issue). That's why our I chord sub is a Major 9#11.
The minor 11 is a often overlooked option for a minor 7 chord substitute or embellishment. There are easy to make - you take a Minor 7-5 chord and lower the 5th 1/2 step and it becomes the 11th tone.
Minor 11 chords consist of 6 tones; The root note (1); a minor 3 (b3); a perfect 5th (5); minor 7 (b7) and the 9th tone (9) and the 11th tone (11).
Two notes need to be left out (because we only have 4 strings) - for the most commonly used minor 11 chord forms (preferred by many jazz guitarists - they typically use a 4 note version as well) we leave out the 9th and the 5th (the 5th is lowered to get the 11th tone).
You may say - "Hey - without the 9 it's technically a minor 7 (add11)" and you'd be right but the 9th tone is frequently left out of these and they are usually still called Minor 11 chords.
Lets take a look at them...
You'll notice that these share the same shape as a 6/9 chords.
Rules to remember:
- Take a minor 7 and lower the 5th one step and you'll have the minor 11
- Take a minor 7 b5 and lower the 5th 1/2 step and you'll have a minor 11th
Although it is often overlooked it is one of the top 3 choices for a minor chord embellishment!
GRAB YOUR (PDF) MINOR 11 CHORD CHARTS HERE (Charts show MINOR 11 chords all the way up the neck - patreon).
How to use them
Wherever you see a minor 7 in a scale harmonized with 7 chords a minor 11 may be used.
The minor 9 may be substituted for the ii, iii, or vi chord (any minor 7chord).
Major 11th Chords (we use maj9#11)
Major and dominant 11 chords typically have a #11 because of the dissonance created with the major 3rd and the 4th. The #11 solves that problem, the 11th (which is actually the 4th tone) is then 1 step away from the major 3rd rather than 1/2 step.
This particular form dose not have the 3rd tone anyway - but we still like the sound of the #11 here. It is the best option for a major 11.
Let's take a look at the major 9 #11 chords.
These may be familiar forms to you if you've used major 7 chords - they are the same forms.
The major 9 #11 is built with 6 tones the root note (1), a major 3rd (3), a perfect 5th (5), a major 7th (7), the 9th tone (9), and the #11th (#11).
The root is raised to get the 9th tone, so there is no root and either the 5th or the 3rd will be altered to get the #11th tone...
There are two ways to make the Major 9 #11 we could lower the 5th 1/2 step to get the #11 or we could raise the 3rd 1 step. Here we raise the 3rd to get the easy to play familiar chords we see here.
Rules to remember:
- If you take a major 9 chord and raise the 3rd 1 step so that it becomes the #11 you get the major 9 #11 chord.
- A major 9 #11 is the same chord as a major 7 chord a 5th higher (so a C major 9 #11 is the same chord as the G major7)
GRAB YOUR (PDF) MAJOR 9 #11 CHORD CHARTS HERE (Charts show MAJOR 9 #11 chords all the way up the neck - patreon).
How to use them
The major 9 #11 may be substituted (or be an embellishment for) for the I or the IV chord.
Dominant 11th Chords (we use 11+, 9#11)
ABOUT REGULAR DOMINANT 11's
If you use a dominant 11 for the V chord (in the key of C) spelled this way 7, 9, 5, 11 it's the same chord as the ii chord (2213 - Dm7), the 1, 5, 7, 11 spelling is not much better - we get 0213, same as a Dm11, so it's not going to sound much like a dominant and it wont have the pull to the I that we'd like.
These chords are used (not much) but if you want a pull to the I chord they won't work...
WE WANT #11's (11+ chords) FOR THE DOMINANT
Now, we know that an 11th is a 4th, so what is a #11? We've seen that with the maj9#11 chord, a sharp 11 is a b5 and as we've learned previously b5 is going to have a great pull to the I chord.
So that's the better choice for the dominant 11 - the whole Idea with a dominant is that we want it to pull to the I chord.
So, for dominant 11th chords, we will want #11th's (which are b5's).
The dominant 11+ is built with 6 tones the root note (1), a major 3rd (3), a perfect 5th (5), a minor 7th (7), the 9th tone (9), and the #11th (#11) which we call the augmented 11 here or an 11+
Try an 11+ to a I chord 2214 (G 11+) to 0003 (C) or better yet 2214 (G11+) to 0002 (Cmaj7). The 2214 is a 5, b7, 9, #11 spelling and would be called an 11+, an augmented 11, or possibly a 9#11... This chord has no 3rd.
Another spelling would be: 3, b7, 9, #11, for something like this: 2112 (G11+) to 0002 (Cmaj7), or 2112 (G11+) to 0003 (C), this one has a 3rd and no 5th.
Let's take a look at them with a 5, b7, 9, #11 spelling...
You'll notice that if lower the 11th tone 1/2 step you'll have a minor 7 chord shape!
GRAB YOUR (PDF) DOMINANT 11+ CHORD CHARTS HERE (Charts show MAJOR 11+ chords all the way up the neck, there are charts for 3, b7, 9, #11 spelling and for the 5, b7, 9, #11 spelling - patreon).
How to use them
You remember the rule: "ANY CHORD CAN BE A DOMINANT" (see article and video here), that means we can use them for any chord - primarily these would be a sub (embellishment) for the V chord, however.
Have fun with these...
Homework...
Use these in some simple chord progressions like so (use the forms above):
- Minor 11 - an embellishment for the ii, iii, or vi chord
- Major 9#11 - an embellishment for the I, or the IV chord
- Dominant 11+ - an embellishment for the V chord
Want more?
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Links leads to the books on amazon...
Secrets of the Chord Chain Complete - Major and Minor Chord Progressions for the Ukulele (SAVE WHEN YOU BUY THE COMPLETE EDITION - Books 1 & 2 - 130 pages!)
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