Learn to Play A Major 7 #11
What notes are in a major 7 #11?
The a major 7 #11 chord (Amaj7#11) is built from the notes A, C#, G#, B, D# — root, major 3rd, major 7th, 9th, ♯11.
Amaj7#11
A major 7 plus a sharp 11th: root, 3rd, 5th, 7, ♯11. The ♯11 (a tritone above the root) would be dissonant low, but voiced high it turns luminous.
How does a major 7 #11 sound?
Lydian glow — a major 7 with its 4th raised until it sparkles instead of clashing. The sound of wonder, sci-fi skies and Simpsons openings.
The Lydian tonic: IVmaj7♯11 is literally the IV chord displaying its natural ♯4 color. It functions as tonic-with-raised-eyebrows — resolved, but gazing upward.
Where do you use Amaj7#11?
Amaj7♯11 is the Lydian chord: as the IV of E it's simply showing its natural ♯4 color. Hold it under a melody on the ♯11 and the whole room looks up.
A shares blues-rock duty with E and D; every jam session eventually lands on an A chord, usually sooner than you expected.
Film scoring's "wonder" cue (Williams, Elfman), Joe Satriani's harmonic playground, and jazz reharmonization whenever a maj7 needs to lift off.
How do you finger Amaj7#11 on piano?
Voice it in two layers: left hand root+5th, right hand 3-7-♯11 under 1-3-5 — the ♯11 lands on the pinky at the top where its sparkle belongs.
Five-note grips are often split between the hands or rolled — keep the top note singing.
Tip: the common mistake
Playing the ♯11 as a plain 11 — the perfect 4th against the major 3rd is the one note that genuinely ruins a major chord. Sharp it or omit it.
Reading about A Major 7 #11 is step one — recognizing it at speed is the game. Chord Rush drills it until your hands know it.
- ⚡Speed
- ◎Accuracy
- ♪Recognition