C minor eleventh

Cm11

Also written Cmin11 · C−11

NotesC · E♭ · G · B♭ · D · F
Formula1 · ♭3 · 5 · ♭7 · 9 · 11
C1G5D9F11E♭♭3B♭♭7
All its notes, from the root

The minor 11th — the dorian chord of modal jazz, the harmony of “So What” and “Impressions”. The 11th (F) sits a 4th above the root, so the chord voices beautifully in fourths.

How pianists voice Cm11

Nobody plays a jazz chord in root position. These are the shapes that actually get played — the same ones Cadenza shows when you play the chord.

Shell Left hand

C1E♭♭3B♭♭7

1 · ♭3 · ♭7 — root, 3rd and 7th: the three notes that say what the chord is. Left hand, low; everything else is colour.

Rootless A From the 3rd

G5D9E♭♭3B♭♭7

♭3 · 5 · ♭7 · 9 — no root: the bass player has it. The left-hand voicing of modern jazz piano. Without C underneath, the same keys read as E♭maj7 — the bass turns them into Cm11.

Rootless B From the 7th

D9G5B♭♭7E♭♭3

♭7 · 9 · ♭3 · 5 — the other half of the pair. A and B alternate through a ii–V–I so the hand barely moves.

Drop 2 Two hands

G5C1E♭♭3B♭♭7

5 · 1 · ♭3 · ♭7 — close position with the second voice from the top dropped an octave: wider, warmer, the standard for chord melody.

So What voicing Fourths

C1F11G5B♭♭7E♭♭3

1 · 11 · ♭7 · ♭3 · 5 — three perfect 4ths with a major 3rd on top: the shape Bill Evans played on Miles Davis's “So What”, here built up from the root.

Kenny Barron voicing Fifths

C1G5D9F11E♭♭3B♭♭7

1 · 5 · 9 · ♭3 · ♭7 · 11 — stacked 5ths in both hands, a semitone apart in the middle: root, 5th and 9th in the left, ♭3, ♭7 and 11 in the right.

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