G seventh, sharp eleven

G7(♯11)

Also written G7♭5 · G7#11

NotesG · B · D · F · C♯
Formula1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7 · ♯11
G1B3D5F♭7C♯♯11
All its notes, from the root

Lydian dominant: the ♯11 (C♯) replaces the 4th. It is the IV7 of D melodic minor and the natural sound of a tritone substitute — G7(♯11) often stands in for C♯7, falling a semitone to F♯.

How pianists voice G7(♯11)

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

G1B3F♭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

B3D5F♭7A9

3 · 5 · ♭7 · 9 — no root: the bass player has it. The left-hand voicing of modern jazz piano. Without G underneath, the same keys read as Bø7 — the bass turns them into G7(♯11).

Rootless B From the 7th

F♭7A9B3D5

♭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

D5G1B3F♭7

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

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