Em11 guitar chord

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About Em11 — uncommon voicings

Em11 is E, G, B, D, F# and A. It keeps every note of and adds the .

The minor 3rd stays in the chord, so this is not a suspension. It works well when one minor harmony holds for several bars, including modal vamps.

Also written Emin11, E-11 or E minor 11.

Em11 uncommon guitar chord diagram: E, G, B, D, F#, A, played 000002
Em11 uncommon guitar chord voicing: 0-0-0-0-0-2.

What these less common shapes are

How to use Em11

1Slide the whole chord

i – ♭ii – i (planing)

Modal tunes sit on one chord for bars at a time, and Em11 is their sound. The harmony stays put, so the voicing moves instead: the whole shape slides a half step and back.

Listen for: Every voice moves together, a half step up and back. The shape never changes.

Heard in“So What” (in a voicing without the ninth)

In which keys. Every note of Em11 belongs to D major, E minor, G major and B minor.

What to play over Em11

Useful scales

Every scale

Chords near Em11

Remove a note

Change one note

  • open strings
    open strings
    D → D#

    Raise the flat seventh to the major seventh.

    See EmMaj11 chord →

Minor chords on every root

The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in how this site is built.

Midi Settings

7.5
Play Style
One pass of the pick from the lowest string up, everything left ringing.
Instrument
350
150

Style

Shows each chord the way this style would voice it, and marks which of its alternatives belong to the idiom.

Layout

Left Handed Mode