B11: guitar chord voicings, inversions, scales and arpeggios
B11 (11) is an interactive GuitarArcanum page with chord formula, intervals, voicings, inversions, triads, pentatonic patterns, scales and arpeggios on the fretboard.
Chord formula
Interval formula: 1 3 5 b7 9 11. A dominant with the 11th. In practice the 3rd is dropped — it clashes hard with the 11th — so it sounds almost like a 9sus4.
Chord tones
The 11th (a 4th an octave up) clashes with the major 3rd, so the 3rd is usually dropped, leaving a soft, open dominant.
Sound character
Open and soft, with no bite — essentially the same floating sus dominant.
Harmonic function
A dominant, usually a soft one. With no 3rd the pull is weaker, so it often just hangs.
Typical progressions
- F#11 → C
- B11 (vamp)
- F#11 – F#7
Guitar voicing advice
Leave out the 3rd. It works as Bb/C, or as a 5th-string root with b7, 9 and 11 stacked on top.
Compatible scales for B11
Other chord qualities on the B root
Compare this chord with other qualities sharing the same root.
- B (Major)
- Bm (Minor)
- Bdim (Diminished)
- Baug (Augmented)
- Bsus4 (Sus4)
- B6 (Maj6)
- Bmaj7 (Major 7)
- Bmaj7b5 (Maj7b5)
- Bmaj7sus4 (Maj7sus4)
- Bmaj7#11 (Maj7#11)
- Bm6 (Min6)
- Bm7 (Minor 7)
- Bmmaj7 (MinMaj7)
- B7 (Dominant 7)
- B7b5 (Dom7b5)
- B7sus4 (Dom7sus4)
- B7#11 (Dom7#11)
- Bm7b5 (m7b5)
- Bdim7 (Dim7)
- Bdimmaj7 (DimMaj7)
- Bdimmaj7b13 (DimMaj7b13)
- Baugmaj7 (AugMaj7)
- Baug7 (Aug7)
- B9 (9)
- Bmaj9 (maj9)
- Bm9 (m9)
- Badd9 (add9)
- B7b9 (7b9)
- B7#9 (7#9)
- B6/9 (6/9)
- Bm6/9 (m6/9)
- Bmmaj9 (m(maj9))
- B9sus4 (9sus4)
- B9b5 (9b5)
- B9#5 (9#5)
- Bmadd9 (madd9)
- B7b9#9 (7b9#9)
- Bsus2 (sus2)
- Bmaj11 (maj11)
- Bm11 (m11)
- B13 (13)
- Bmaj13 (maj13)
- Bm13 (m13)
- B7b13 (7b13)
- B13#11 (13#11)
- B7alt (7alt)