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Db Dominant 7#11 (Db7#11)

Also written as C# Dominant 7#11 (C# and Db are the same key).

1+3+5+b7+#11
E#BGC#G#
4 4
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Notes in Db Dominant 7#11

C# (root)E#G#BG

Inversions

Same notes as Db Dominant 7#11, with a different chord tone as the lowest note. Useful for smoother movement between chords instead of jumping around the keyboard.

Root position

C# in the bass

E#BGC#G#

1st inversion

E# in the bass

E#BGG#C#

2nd inversion

G# in the bass

BGE#G#C#

3rd inversion

B in the bass

BGE#C#G#

4th inversion

G in the bass

GE#BC#G#

Open voicings

A close-position chord like Db Dominant 7#11 can sound cluttered in the middle of the keyboard. Jazz players open it up by dropping one note down an octave, spreading the same notes wider without changing the chord.

Drop 2

B on the bottom

BE#GC#G#

Drop 3

G# on the bottom

E#BGG#C#

Play C#, E#, G#, B and G together and you get Db Dominant 7#11.

A dominant seventh with a sharpened eleventh on top. Jazz players call this the Lydian dominant sound: the raised eleventh takes the edge off a plain dominant chord and leaves something brighter and more floating. It turns up over dominant chords that resolve down a half step, and over static vamps that never resolve at all.

Related chords

Db7Db7b5Db9

Difficulty: Advanced. Category: Extended chords. Click any highlighted key on the diagram above, or tab to it and press Enter, to hear that single note. Inversions mark the bass note with a contrasting outline.