Tools / Chords / E♭ major 11th

E♭ major 11th chord on guitar (E♭maj11)

Also written E♭maj11 or E♭M11

E♭ major 11th contains E♭, G, B♭, D, F, A♭. The 11th-fret grip demands a full barre and a pinky stretch to fret 13.

11th fret11-11-12-12-11-13

Positions on the neck1 of 5

How it’s built

E♭1Root

G3Major 3rd

B♭5Perfect 5th

D7Major 7th

F99th

A♭11Eleventh

Formula 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11

Positions on the neck1 of 5

Inversions

The same three notes, with a different one in the bass.

Root positionE♭–G–B♭–D–F–A♭E♭maj11Bass E♭

First inversionG–B♭–D–F–A♭–E♭E♭maj11/GBass G

Second inversionB♭–D–F–A♭–E♭–GE♭maj11/B♭Bass B♭

Third inversionD–F–A♭–E♭–G–B♭E♭maj11/DBass D

Fourth inversionF–A♭–E♭–G–B♭–DE♭maj11/FBass F

Fifth inversionA♭–E♭–G–B♭–D–FE♭maj11/A♭Bass A♭

Why it sounds like that

E♭ major 11th is built from the formula 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 over E♭. The 11th, A♭, adds a suspended color above the major 7th. Compare it with E♭ major 9th, which stops at the 9th.

What goes wrong with E♭ major 11th?

Let the high e string buzz under the barre.
Allow the pinky to flatten onto the B string.
Mute the D string with the middle finger's underside.

When to use it

E♭ major 11th works as the tonic in E♭ major, especially in the I–IV–V–I progression E♭–A♭–B♭–E♭. It suits jazz, neo-soul, and slow ballads where the added 11th softens the major 7th. Try it in place of E♭ major for a lush ending.

Changing to and from E♭ major 11th

Sliding the shape down two frets to the 9th fret gives C♯ major 11th.
From E♭ major, lift the pinky and move the middle and ring fingers down one string each.

Which voicing to use

The 11th-fret voicing keeps E♭ in the bass for a grounded root position. The G inversions put the third in the bass, making the chord sound brighter and less stable.

How do you play an E♭ major 11th chord on guitar?

11th fret

Barre● On the diagram

E♭ major 11th is played at the 11th fret as 11 11 12 12 11 13: barre your index finger across fret 11, middle finger on the D string at fret 12, ring finger on the G string at fret 12 and pinky finger on the high e string at fret 13.

Tip — The index barre must fret the A string and high e cleanly while the pinky reaches fret 13.

String-by-string breakdown

String	Fret	Finger	Note
6 (E)	11	1 (barre)	E♭ (1)
5 (A)	11	1 (barre)	A♭ (11)
4 (D)	12	2	D (7)
3 (G)	12	3	G (3)
2 (B)	11	1 (barre)	B♭ (5)
1 (e)	13	4	F (9)

E♭maj11/G inversion · fret 1

Barre

E♭ major 11th is played at the 1st fret as 3 1 1 1 3 1: barre your index finger across fret 1, ring finger on the low E string at fret 3 and pinky finger on the B string at fret 3.

String-by-string breakdown

String	Fret	Finger	Note
6 (E)	3	3	G (3)
5 (A)	1	1 (barre)	B♭ (5)
4 (D)	1	1 (barre)	E♭ (1)
3 (G)	1	1 (barre)	A♭ (11)
2 (B)	3	4	D (7)
1 (e)	1	1 (barre)	F (9)

E♭maj11/G inversion · fret 3

Barre

E♭ major 11th is played at the 3rd fret as 3 5 3 3 4 4: barre your index finger across fret 3, pinky finger on the A string at fret 5, middle finger on the B string at fret 4 and ring finger on the high e string at fret 4.

String-by-string breakdown

String	Fret	Finger	Note
6 (E)	3	1 (barre)	G (3)
5 (A)	5	4	D (7)
4 (D)	3	1 (barre)	F (9)
3 (G)	3	1 (barre)	B♭ (5)
2 (B)	4	2	E♭ (1)
1 (e)	4	3	A♭ (11)

E♭maj11/G inversion · fret 13

Barre

E♭ major 11th is played at the 13th fret as 15 13 13 13 15 13: barre your index finger across fret 13, ring finger on the low E string at fret 15 and pinky finger on the B string at fret 15.

String-by-string breakdown

String	Fret	Finger	Note
6 (E)	15	3	G (3)
5 (A)	13	1 (barre)	B♭ (5)
4 (D)	13	1 (barre)	E♭ (1)
3 (G)	13	1 (barre)	A♭ (11)
2 (B)	15	4	D (7)
1 (e)	13	1 (barre)	F (9)

E♭maj11/F inversion

Barre

E♭ major 11th is played at the 1st fret as 1 1 1 1 3 3: barre your index finger across fret 1, ring finger on the B string at fret 3 and pinky finger on the high e string at fret 3.

String-by-string breakdown

String	Fret	Finger	Note
6 (E)	1	1 (barre)	F (9)
5 (A)	1	1 (barre)	B♭ (5)
4 (D)	1	1 (barre)	E♭ (1)
3 (G)	1	1 (barre)	A♭ (11)
2 (B)	3	3	D (7)
1 (e)	3	4	G (3)

Common questions

How is E♭ major 11th written?

E♭ major 11th is written as E♭M11 or E♭maj11. The ASCII root is Eb. It is also spelled D♯ in enharmonic notation for the same sounding root.

What is the difference between E♭ major 11th and E♭ major 9th?

E♭ major 11th adds the 11th, A♭, to the five notes of E♭ major 9th. The 11th creates a suspended sound against the major third.

Why does the 11th-fret shape use a barre?

The barre at fret 11 covers the root E♭ on string 5, the fifth B♭ on string 6, and the ninth F on string 2. It frees the other fingers for the 11th and major 7th.

String

Fret

Finger

Note

6 (E)

1 (barre)

E♭ (1)

5 (A)

1 (barre)

A♭ (11)

4 (D)

D (7)

3 (G)

G (3)

2 (B)

1 (barre)

B♭ (5)

1 (e)

F (9)

String

Fret

Finger

Note

6 (E)

G (3)

5 (A)

1 (barre)

B♭ (5)

4 (D)

1 (barre)

E♭ (1)

3 (G)

1 (barre)

A♭ (11)

2 (B)

D (7)

1 (e)

1 (barre)

F (9)

String

Fret

Finger

Note

6 (E)

1 (barre)

G (3)

5 (A)

D (7)

4 (D)

1 (barre)

F (9)

3 (G)

1 (barre)

B♭ (5)

2 (B)

E♭ (1)

1 (e)

A♭ (11)

String

Fret

Finger

Note

6 (E)

G (3)

5 (A)

1 (barre)

B♭ (5)

4 (D)

1 (barre)

E♭ (1)

3 (G)

1 (barre)

A♭ (11)

2 (B)

D (7)

1 (e)

1 (barre)

F (9)

String

Fret

Finger

Note

6 (E)

1 (barre)

F (9)

5 (A)

1 (barre)

B♭ (5)

4 (D)

1 (barre)

E♭ (1)

3 (G)

1 (barre)

A♭ (11)

2 (B)

D (7)

1 (e)

G (3)