ArpeggiosEN

Arpeggio quality

11

The dominant eleventh extends the dominant ninth with a perfect eleventh, the fourth degree an octave up. Against the major third the eleventh creates a strong suspended rub, so this quality is usually heard as a dominant with a built-in delay — it leans toward resolution but keeps hovering. In practice many voicings omit the third to let the fourth ring cleanly, which is why the chord can sound more like a sus chord than a dominant. Funk, fusion and modern jazz use it over long vamps. Listen for the fourth fighting the third: that friction is the quality's defining feature.

Formula
1 3 5 ♭7 9 11
Notes
C♯ E♯ G♯ B D♯ F♯
Family
Dominant

Notation in C♯

representative key
44135♭7

Fretboard — frets 0–12

C♯ 11 — frets 0 to 12, 37 notes, roots in orange3115♭719♭7193115♭75♭71931193115♭71♭71931153115♭7190123456789101112
C♯ 11 — frets 0 to 12, 37 notes, roots in orange3115♭719♭7193115♭75♭71931193115♭71♭71931153115♭7190123456789101112

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Same family

How to practise this arpeggio

  • Play the eleventh against the major third and hear the friction.
  • Drop the third and listen to the chord become suspended.
  • Loop it over a fusion vamp and let the fourth hover.
  • Compare it with the 9 chord and hear the extra openness.