C Dominant 7#11 (C7#11)

1+3+5+b7+#11
CEGBbF#
4 4
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Notes in C Dominant 7#11

C (root)EGBbF#

Inversions

Same notes as C 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

CEGBbF#

1st inversion

E in the bass

EGCBbF#

2nd inversion

G in the bass

GCEBbF#

3rd inversion

Bb in the bass

CEGBbF#

4th inversion

F# in the bass

CEGF#Bb

Open voicings

A close-position chord like C 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

Bb on the bottom

CEGBbF#

Drop 3

G on the bottom

GCEBbF#

Press C, E, G, Bb and F# together on the keyboard and you're playing C 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.

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.