Lesson 40 · All 12 keys

Dominant 9♯11 Chord Trainer

Learn how a Dominant 9♯11 chord is built one semitone-count at a time — a dominant 9th chord (Lesson 32) with a raised 11th stacked on top — also called the Lydian dominant 9 — then put it to work with three MIDI exercises: playing all 12 Dominant 9♯11 chords around the circle of fourths, and 5 jazz plus 5 gospel chord progressions that show off its color, in every key.

How a Dominant 9♯11 chord is built

A Dominant 9♯11 chord — written 9♯11 (e.g. C9♯11) — is a 6-note chord: a dominant 9th chord (Lesson 32) with a raised 11th stacked on top — also called the Lydian dominant 9. Every 9♯11 chord — in any of the 12 keys — is built the exact same way, by counting semitones to the right from a root note:

  1. The starting note — this note names the chord.
  2. Count 4 semitones up from the root — the major 3rd.
  3. Count 3 more semitones up from the 3rd (7 semitones from the root) — the perfect 5th.
  4. Count 3 more semitones up from the 5th (10 semitones from the root) — the minor 7th.
  5. Count 4 more semitones up from the 7th (14 semitones from the root) — the 9th.
  6. Count 4 more semitones up from the 9th (18 semitones from the root — an octave plus a tritone) — the ♯11th.
Example — D9♯11: start on D, count 4 semitones right to reach F♯, 3 more to reach A, 3 more to reach C, 4 more to reach E, then 4 more to reach G♯ (an octave and a tritone above the root). D‑F♯‑A‑C‑E‑G♯ is the D9♯11 chord.
This is one of the "hippest" sounds in modern gospel piano — a full 9th chord colored with a bright, unclashing ♯11th on top. You'll hear it constantly as a IV7 chord in contemporary gospel worship, giving the subdominant a lush, sophisticated lift that a plain IV7 or even a IV9 doesn't have.

Try it: pick a root and build the chord step by step

Step 1 of 6
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Chord toneNoteSemitones from rootMIDI #

All 12 Dominant 9♯11 chords at a glance

ChordRoot+4 semitones → Major 3rd+3 semitones → Perfect 5th+3 semitones → Minor 7th+4 semitones → 9th+4 semitones → ♯11th

This MIDI exercise plays all 12 Dominant 9♯11 chords, one after another, moving around the circle of fourths — each chord's root sits a perfect 4th (5 semitones) above the last one: C → F → B♭ → E♭ → A♭ → D♭ → G♭/F♯ → B → E → A → D → G → back to C. Every chord is played as a full 6-note Dominant 9♯11 chord (root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th, 9th, ♯11th together).

Chord 1 of 12
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The 12 chords, in circle-of-fourths order

#ChordRootMajor 3rdPerfect 5thMinor 7th9th♯11th

Five jazz chord progressions built around the Dominant 9♯11 chord. Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
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Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes

Five gospel chord progressions built around the Dominant 9♯11 chord. Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
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Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes