B♭ eleventh (B♭11) chord on piano

Looking for the B♭11 chord on piano? It is an eleventh chord (a dominant ninth plus a perfect eleventh), made of six notes: B♭ – D – F – A♭ – C – E♭. The same chord with a different spelling: A♯ eleventh (A♯11).

Full chord: B♭3 – D4 – F4 – A♭4 – C5 – E♭5

Chord finder Transposer

What the B♭11 chord sounds like

An eleventh chord has six notes in theory. In practice the third is left out (it clashes with the eleventh), so it sounds like a 9sus4 – a modern, open dominant.

Notes of the B♭11 chord

Degree	Note	Interval from the root
1	B♭	root
3	D	major third (4 semitones)
5	F	perfect fifth (7 semitones)
7	A♭	minor seventh (10 semitones)
9	C	major second (2 semitones)
11	E♭	perfect fourth (5 semitones)

Piano voicings

Chords with five or more notes are rarely played in one hand: the left hand takes the root, the right hand the colour notes. The fifth (and in an eleventh chord the third) is often left out.

Full chord

B♭3 – D4 – F4 – A♭4 – C5 – E♭5

Two-hand voicing

B♭2 – A♭4 – C5 – E♭5 – F5

Which keys is it in?

The B♭11 chord is built from the notes of these keys (for minor keys, both the natural and the harmonic minor are considered):

E♭ major: V11 (dominant)
C minor: VII11

Similar chords and substitutes

If B♭11 is too hard, or you want a different colour in the same spot, these chords are worth a try.

Substitutes (by function)

E7 – tritone substitute: the same third and seventh, swapped – a jazz favourite
Ddim7 – diminished seventh on the third: a common stand-in for the dominant
B♭7 – a simpler dominant
B♭7sus4 – suspended dominant, less tense
E♭ – where it resolves (V → I)

Simpler versions

B♭9 – all 5 of its notes are in this chord
B♭7 – all 4 of its notes are in this chord
B♭7sus4 – all 4 of its notes are in this chord
B♭add9 – all 4 of its notes are in this chord

Frequently asked questions

What notes are in the B♭11 chord?

B♭, D, F, A♭, C, E♭. The root is B♭; the intervals of the other notes from the root: major third, perfect fifth, minor seventh, major second, perfect fourth.

How do I play the B♭11 chord on piano?

Play the root with your left hand and the colour notes (third, seventh, ninth) with your right hand – the two-hand voicing above. Stacking all 6 notes in one hand is possible but sounds crowded.

Why do some songbooks write H instead of B?

In German and Central European notation, H is the note B, and B is the note B♭. So a “B” chord in a German or Hungarian songbook is B♭ in English notation, and an “H” chord is B. Always check which notation your chord chart uses.