F Minor 11th (Fm11)

Download MIDI
1+b3+5+b7+9+11
FCGAbEbBb
4 4

Notes in F Minor 11th

F (root)AbCEbGBb

Inversions

Same notes as F Minor 11th, with a different chord tone as the lowest note. Useful for smoother movement between chords instead of jumping around the keyboard.

Root position

F in the bass

FCGAbEbBb

1st inversion

Ab in the bass (Fm11/Ab)

CGFAbEbBb

2nd inversion

C in the bass (Fm11/C)

CGFEbBbAb

3rd inversion

Eb in the bass (Fm11/Eb)

GFCEbBbAb

4th inversion

G in the bass (Fm11/G)

GFCBbAbEb

5th inversion

Bb in the bass (Fm11/Bb)

FCGBbAbEb

Open voicings

A close-position chord like F Minor 11th 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

F on the bottom

FGCAbEbBb

Drop 3

Eb on the bottom

FCGEbAbBb

Play F, Ab, C, Eb, G and Bb together and you get F Minor 11th.

A minor ninth chord extended with an eleventh blends far more naturally than its dominant cousin, since the eleventh doesn't clash with a minor third the way it does against a major one. The result is smooth and spacious, a regular fixture in jazz, neo-soul and ambient writing.

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.