EXTENDED 11th CHORDS ( A mini lesson by Dan Denley, AmazingGuitarSecrets, for PJs Guitar Chords & Lyrics subscribers )

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Part 12b: "11th Chords: What They Are, How They're Built And How To Play Them"

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Remember, an "extended chord" is a 7th chord with an added extension of a 9th, 11th,
13th or some combination of those intervals.

Today, we're focusing on 11ths chords. They're often found in jazz, funk, fusion,
progressive rock, and R&B.

An 11th chord doesn't need to have a 9th, but it MUST have the 7th.

Now, think back for minute...

Last time, I told you that there are three kinds of 7th chords:

1) Major 7th

2) Minor 7th

3) Dominant 7th

I also said there are three kinds of 9th chords:

1) Major 9th

2) Minor 9th

3) Dominant 9th

QUICK REVIEW (You should memorize these formulas):

--> Major 9th = Major 7th chord with Major 9th

--> Minor 9th = Minor 7th chord with Major 9th

--> Dominant 9th = Dominant 7th chord with Major 9th

See a pattern? All 9th chords have the added interval of a *Major* 9th. Ok, so what
about 11th chords. Well, here's the deal...

11th chords come in two flavors:

1) Minor 11ths

2) Dominant 11th

But what about our old friend the Major 11th? Well, I'll get to that in a minute.
Stay with me here...

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First, the Minor 11 chord:

D Minor 11 (Written Dm11 or Dmin11)

|--3--| <-- G (Perfect 11th)
|--5--| <-- E (Major 9th)
|--5--| <-- C (Minor 7th)
|--3--| <-- F (Minor 3rd)
|--5--| <-- D (Root)
|--x--|

OK, here's a quick tip...

Let's take the chord above, and change it into Minor 9th. Do you know what to do?
(If you don't, read the "formula" I gave you at the beginning of this letter.

Simply leave out the 11th and you've got a Minor 9th! Here's how you play it:

D Minor 9 (Written Dm9 or Dmin9)

|--x--|
|--5--| <-- E (Major 9th)
|--5--| <-- C (Minor 7th)
|--3--| <-- F (Minor 3rd)
|--5--| <-- D (Root)
|--x--|

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Alright, now let's look at the other variation of the 11th chord: the Dominant 11th.

Dominant 11ths are (can you guess?) a dominant 7th chord with an added 11th. They
often contain the 9th as well (but don't have to).

Surprisingly, 11th chords are pretty easy to play (at least some voicings are).

Here's an easy way to play a C11 chord. (Pssst... when you see C11 it automatically
means a dominant 11th chord).

C Dominant 11th (Written C11 or Cdom11):

|--3--| <-- G  (Perfect 5th)
|--3--| <-- D  (Major 9th)
|--3--| <-- Bb (Minor 7th)
|--3--| <-- F  (11th -- Yeah, yeah, I know. Technically it's a 4th)
|--3--| <-- C  (Root)
|--x--|

Ok, now that you can play minor 11th's and dominant 11th's, here's the deal with
major 11ths.

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Most of the time, a major 11th chord has a #11th (pronounced "sharp eleventh")
so it doesn't clash with the major 3rd. And because of that it's really an "altered"
chord. And we'll save altered chords for another time.

OK, if you're just dying to know...

Altered chords are usually dominant 7th chords where the 9th or 5th is raised or
lowered by a half step.

Here's a C Major 7th with a sharp 11:

Cmaj7#11:

|--x--|
|--7--| <-- F# (Augmented 11th)
|--9--| <-- E (Major 3rd)
|--9--| <-- B (Major 7th)
|--x--|
|--8--| <-- C (Root)

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Are you still with me? Then you're a real trooper. I know this is kind of nerd
stuff. And if you just want to play in a 3-chord punk rock band, you'll probably
never use any of these chords.

On the other hand, if you want to play jazz or funk (You know, those 70's classics
like "Brick House" and "Voulez-Vous") then you better get to know your extended
chords.

All the best to you and your guitar playing!

Cheers,


Dan Denley

P.S.  If you'd like to hear me play all chords I gave you above, then go here:

http://www.amazingguitarsecrets.com/11th/11th.html




To check out Dan's fantastic guitarist resource site, click on this AmazingGuitarSecrets link

( Actually, Dan is currently preparing to relaunch his program with even more lessons, more video, audio and written learning materials.  For the next few days, you will be able to pick up an amazing free e-Book at this link,  while Dan puts all of the building blocks of the new, improved website together.  I would advise you to bookmark the site and keep checking back for the official re-launch of the site, I'm pretty sure there will be some juicy worms for the early birds! )

PJ