eleventh

Perfect eleventh on C. Play (help·info)

In music or music theory an eleventh play (help·info) is the note eleven scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the eleventh.

Augmented eleventh on C. Play (help·info)

Since there are only seven degrees in a diatonic scale the eleventh degree is the same as the subdominant and the interval of an eleventh is a compound fourth.

Eleventh chord on C^[1], CMA¹¹. Play (help·info)

An eleventh chord is a chord which contains the tertian extension of the eleventh. Typically found in jazz, an eleventh chord will also usually include the seventh and ninth along with elements of the basic triad structure. However, since the major diatonic eleventh would create a dissonant minor ninth interval with the third of the chord, it is a rare phenomenon, even in 20th century classical music^{[citation needed]}. The dominant eleventh (C, E, G, B♭, D, F), for example, usually omits the third and sometimes the fifth, thus turning into a suspended chord ( play (help·info)).

In the dominant eleventh, because this minor ninth interval between the third and the eleventh is more problematic to the ear and to voice leading than a major ninth would be, alterations to the third or eleventh scale degrees are a common solution. When the third is lowered, a minor eleventh chord is formed with a major ninth interval between the two notes in question (e.g. C, E♭, G, B♭, D, F) play (help·info). Similarly, the eleventh may be raised chromatically over a major triad (e.g. to F♯ in a C major chord) to imply the lydian dominant mode. A less common solution to the issue is to simply omit the third in the presence of the eleventh, resulting in a chord enharmonic to the suspended chord (sus4). This type of chord should be notated as such.

Voice leading for dominant eleventh chords in the common practice period.^[2] Play (help·info)

In the common practice period, "the root, 7th, 9th, and 11th are the most common factors present in the V¹¹ chord," with the 3rd and 5th, "typically omitted".^[2] The 11th is usually retained as a common tone when the, "V¹¹ resolves to I or i".^[2]

The suspended chord derived from the dominant eleventh chord (with the third omitted and the seventh flattened), is particularly useful in diatonic music when a composer or accompanist wishes to allow the tonic note of a key to be heard while also sounding the dominant of that key in the bass, but while not playing the second inversion of the triad on the tonic. Therefore, something similar to a perfect cadence may be attempted under a melody which does not leave the tonic note (e.g. a perfect cadence in F might require that the melody moves by step from E to F, or from G to F; whereas, if the first of the two notes is harmonized by an eleventh chord, the melody may remain on F, while the bass still plays the typical pattern of a perfect cadence i.e. dominant-tonic). This type of suspended chord also expands the versatility of the dominant pedal compositional technique.

See also

• Elektra chord
• Jazz chord

Sources