Left-handed A11 diagram
Vertical: high e on the left, nut at the top. Horizontal: high e at the top, nut on the right. X = silent, O = open. Dot numbers are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little. A thick line joins notes held with one finger as a barre.
Fret and finger guide
Both codes read from low E to high e, regardless of the diagram view.
- Frets
x · 0 · 0 · 0 · 0 · x- Fingers
- – · – · – · – · – · –
- Level
- Beginner (this fingering)
Make a clean A11 chord
No fretted notes are needed for this voicing. Play the O-marked strings open and keep any X-marked strings silent. This third-free voicing also sounds as a 9sus4 chord. This practical voicing leaves out 3, 5; the full chord formula is shown separately.
- Place one finger at a time, just behind the fret wire.
- Pick each sounding string slowly. Adjust any finger that mutes its neighbour.
- Release pressure, then make the shape again. Aim for a relaxed hand.
- Strum four beats, rest for four, then repeat. Rest if your hand becomes tired; stop if you feel pain.
More fingering ideas
Compare the alternative voicing and choose the position that sounds clear without straining your hand.
Fret codes are written low E to high e. An x means leave that string silent.
Practise chord changes with a metronome →A11 notes and chord formula
A dominant eleventh extends a dominant ninth with an eleventh. Both practical shapes here omit the third and fifth, so they also sound as 9sus4 chords. C11 is voiced C-F-Bb-D; E belongs to the full formula but is not played in these shapes. Try C11 moving to C7.
- Formula
- 1 – 3 – 5 – b7 – 9 – 11
- Chord notes
- A – C# – E – G – B – D
This shape omits degrees 3, 5. The notes above describe the full chord.
How to read chord diagrams · Build a comfortable barre · Connect chord shapes with CAGED
Need a term explained? Chord names and formulas → · Flat fifths and other intervals →