Guitar Chord Dictionary: C Dominant Eleventh Chords

Welcome to our tutorial on the C 11 chord, a complex yet beautiful chord that belongs to the family of Dominant Chords. This chord is composed of the notes C, E, G, Bb, D, and F, and is built using the following intervals: 1, 3, 5, b7, 9, and 11.

The intervals that make up this chord have specific names in music theory. The '1' is the Root, '3' is the Major Third, '5' is the Perfect Fifth, 'b7' is the Minor Seventh, '9' is the Major Ninth, and '11' is the Perfect Eleventh. To understand more about these intervals, you can refer to our tutorial about fretboard intervals.

This chord is more advanced than the ones typically learned by beginners, hence it falls under the category of intermediate guitar chords. It is often used in jazz chord progressions, which frequently utilize maj7, m7 and 7 chord types. For more about this, you can check out our tutorial about jazz chord progression.

In this tutorial, we will guide you on how to play the C 11 chord using chord diagrams and fretboard patterns that show the tones composing the chord. We will also delve into how this chord is built by stacking intervals, a concept explained in our tutorial that teaches how to build chords.

Learning to play the C 11 chord can be a challenge, but with practice and understanding, it can add a unique flavor to your guitar playing. So, let's dive in!