Lesson 25 · All 12 keys

Major 7th ♯11 Chord Trainer

Learn how a major 7th sharp 11 (maj7♯11) chord is built one semitone-count at a time — a major 7th chord with a raised 11th stacked on top — then put it to work with three MIDI exercises: playing all 12 maj7♯11 chords around the circle of fourths, and 5 jazz plus 5 gospel chord progressions that show off its bright, "Lydian" color, in every key.

How a major 7th ♯11 chord is built

A major 7th sharp 11 chord — written maj7♯11 (also seen as M7♯11 or Δ7♯11) — is a 5-note chord: a complete major 7th chord with one more note stacked on top, a raised 11th. Every maj7♯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. Start on the root — the note that names the chord.
  2. Count 4 semitones to the right to land on the major 3rd.
  3. From there, count 3 more semitones to the right (7 semitones from the root) to land on the perfect 5th.
  4. From there, count 4 more semitones to the right (11 semitones from the root) to land on the major 7th.
  5. From there, count 7 more semitones to the right (18 semitones from the root — an octave plus a tritone) to land on the sharp 11th.
Example — D major 7th ♯11 (Dmaj7♯11): start on D, count 4 semitones right to reach F♯, 3 more to reach A, 4 more to reach C♯, then 7 more to reach G♯. D‑F♯‑A‑C♯‑G♯ is the Dmaj7♯11 chord. The pattern 4, 3, 4, 7 (18 semitones total from root to top) is what makes a chord a "maj7♯11" — every one of the 12 maj7♯11 chords is this same shape, just moved to start on a different key.
Notice this chord keeps the exact same 4 notes as a plain major 7th chord (root, 3rd, 5th, major 7th) and simply adds a 5th note on top. A plain (unraised) 11th would land just one semitone above the major 3rd, clashing hard against it — which is why an unaltered 11th is almost never added to a major 7th chord. Raising it a semitone removes that clash entirely and instead adds a bright, shimmering lift: the same "Lydian" color a major scale's own 4th degree naturally gets when it becomes the root of its own chord. That's exactly why jazz and gospel pianists reach for a maj7♯11 wherever a major 7th chord would otherwise sit — especially on the subdominant (IV) degree, where the raised 11th is already diatonic to the key and needs no borrowed notes at all.

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

Step 1 of 5
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Chord toneNoteSemitones from rootMIDI #

All 12 maj7♯11 chords at a glance

ChordRoot+4 semitones → 3rd+3 semitones → 5th+4 semitones → 7th+7 semitones → ♯11th

This MIDI exercise plays all 12 maj7♯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 5-note maj7♯11 chord (root, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and ♯11th together).

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

#ChordRoot3rd5th7th♯11th

Five jazz chord progressions that put the maj7♯11 chord to work — mostly as a bright, "Lydian" substitute wherever a plain major 7th chord would otherwise sit. 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 the same way. 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