F11

F11 is F, C, Eb, G and Bb, a dominant eleventh. The shape this page opens on is written 111211, lowest string first.

Note by note. F is the root, C is the fifth, Eb is the flat seventh, G is the ninth and Bb is the eleventh.

Also written F9sus4 or F dominant 11. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.

There are 5 common shapes for F11 on the guitar, and 54 derived voicings in 3 families.

One note away. Change a single note of F11 and you have Fsus2sus4 (with one note taken away), Fm9 (with one note moved), Fm11 (with one note added), F7sus4 (with one note taken away) or F9 (with one note moved).

In which keys. Every note of F11 belongs to C minor (the iv), Eb major (the ii), F minor (the i), G minor (the ♭VII), Ab major (the vi) and Bb major (the V).

The common shapes, written lowest string first: 111211, 333345, x87866, x-8-8-8-10-8, x-12-10-10-11-11.

Under the hand. None of the shapes for F11 uses an open string, so every one of them is movable; the lowest sits at the 1st fret. 3 of the 5 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 1st fret to the 12th.

Where it goes. F11 is the V of Bb, and that is where it goes if it goes anywhere: the third and the flat seventh are a tritone apart, and both resolve by a semitone into Bb.

Drop 2. A close-position chord with the second voice from the top lowered an octave. Sits on four adjacent strings. F11 has 1110xx, 1313xx, xx1311, xx3343, x3334x, xx8868, x8888x, 8888xx.

Drop 3. The third voice from the top lowered an octave. The dropped voice becomes the bass, which is why a string is skipped. F11 has x1x041, 1x131x, x3x341, 3x334x, x6x363, 6x354x, 6x586x, x6x566.

Rootless. The root left to the bass player. Frees a finger for a tension. F11 has x1101x, xx1313, x3534x, xx5546, xx8888, x-x-10-12-11-11, x-13-13-12-13-x, x-x-13-15-13-15.

What kind of chord this is. F11 is a dominant chord — root, major third, fifth, minor seventh. dominant seventh chords on every root, and what they are for.

The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.