Em11 is a minor 11th chord, and on the bass it is played from the notes E, G, B, D, F#, A. On bass it is outlined with the arpeggio E, B, E, G — root, 5th, root, 3rd. This page is a complete reference for it: notes and intervals, fingerings, mistakes to avoid, the keys it belongs to and a short practice routine.
What notes are in the Em11 chord?
The Em11 chord is a minor 11th chord, and its notes are fixed: E, G, B, D, F#, A. Every voicing on every instrument uses these same notes, in some order and in some octave — change one of them and you are playing a different chord. The table below lists each note with its interval from the root E, so you can see the structure of Em11 at a glance. On the bass, Em11 is the arpeggio E, B, E, G — root, 5th, root, 3rd — and that order is the shape to learn.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| E | Root |
| G | b3 |
| B | 5 |
| D | b7 |
| F# | 9 |
| A | 11 |
The root is E, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in Em11 are b3, 5, b7, 9, 11. That combination is what makes Em11 sound the way it does: the intervals decide the colour, and the root decides the pitch. On the bass, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
Em11 sounds smooth, deep and modern — the minor 11th is the richest minor colour in common use. Listen for that character when you play it — if Em11 does not sound that way, one of the notes is probably wrong, and the table above is the place to check. On the bass, the arpeggio E, B, E, G outlines Em11 one note at a time.
Comparing Em11 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, minor 11th against minor 9th: Em11 adds the 11th A to the minor 9th chord. The extra note widens the sound without changing the function. Play both chords slowly, one after the other, and notice which note moves. Naming that note out loud while you play is the fastest way to learn the difference. On the bass, the arpeggio E, B, E, G outlines Em11 one note at a time.
How to play Em11 on bass
On the bass, Em11 is not played as a full chord shape the way it is on guitar or piano. Instead you outline it with an arpeggio: the notes E, B, E, G, which are the chord tones of Em11 in the order root, 5th, root, 3rd. That pattern is the working shape for this chord on bass, and it tells the listener exactly which chord is sounding, even though you never play all the notes at once.
Practise the arpeggio of Em11 by playing E on beat one, B on beat two, E on beat three and G on beat four, one note per beat, letting each note ring for its full value. Then play it backwards — G, E, B, E — so your fingers learn the shape in both directions. The root E is the anchor: it is the note the rest of the band listens for, so land on it cleanly and on time, and let the 5th B and the 3rd G colour the bar without pulling attention away from the root.
Once the straight arpeggio of Em11 is comfortable, try playing just the root E and the 5th B for a whole bar, then add the 3rd G on the last beat as a passing colour. That root-and-5th skeleton is how most bass lines outline Em11 in a real song, and the full arpeggio is the version you use when the arrangement has space for it. Check the notes with the Bass Chord Finder and the Chord Finder, and practise the arpeggio against a slow metronome so the notes land exactly on the beat.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make Em11 sound wrong on the bass, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Crowding the voicing. Six notes need space. Drop the 5th (B) first and spread the rest across octaves. On the bass, the arpeggio E, B, E, G outlines Em11 one note at a time.
Losing the 11th. Without A this is just a minor 9th chord. The 11th is the note that makes it an 11th. On the bass, the arpeggio E, B, E, G outlines Em11 one note at a time.
Playing it too fast. Em11 is a slow chord. At a fast tempo its colour gets lost. On the bass, Em11 is the arpeggio E, B, E, G — root, 5th, root, 3rd — and that order is the shape to learn.
Playing the arpeggio as a chord. Strumming all the notes of Em11 at once on bass sounds muddy and hides the root. Play the arpeggio one note at a time, let each note ring, and keep the root E as the note the listener hears first. On the bass, play E, B, E, G and hear how the arpeggio spells out Em11 without ever playing it as a block.
Where Em11 is used
Em11 is not a diatonic triad in any major or minor key, because it is an extended or altered chord, but its base triad belongs to the key of C major, the key of D major, the key of G major. the ii chord in major keys, in its fullest form. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward A major, the key a perfect fourth above E, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where Em11 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the bass, play E, B, E, G and hear how the arpeggio spells out Em11 without ever playing it as a block.
Because Em11 is an extended or altered chord, it appears in progressions as a colour or a dominant rather than as a diatonic staple. Try it in place of the plain E triad in a progression you already know, and listen to how the extra notes change the feel — that substitution is the usual way extended chords enter real music. The Chord Progression Builder lets you try Em11 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the bass, Em11 is the arpeggio E, B, E, G — root, 5th, root, 3rd — and that order is the shape to learn.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in Em11 on guitar, Em11 on piano, Em11 on ukulele, and the scales that fit over it are the E major scale and the E minor pentatonic scale. Learning Em11 on the bass and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — E, G, B, D, F#, A — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising Em11
A short worked example makes Em11 concrete. Play the four-chord progression A – E – F#m – D in A major, the key Em11 most often resolves toward: A – E – F#m – D. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how Em11 sounds in that sequence — whether it feels like home, like a lift, or like a chord on its way somewhere else. Then play the same four chords in a different order, starting on Em11 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the bass, Em11 is the arpeggio E, B, E, G — root, 5th, root, 3rd — and that order is the shape to learn.
For a second exercise, play Em11 and then the chord a fourth above E, back and forth, four times each. That move — a chord and the chord a fourth above it — is the most common resolution in Western music, and it is the move Em11 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing Em11 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: E, G, B, D, F#, A. Naming the notes while you play them is what turns a shape into knowledge you can use in any key. Test yourself with the Practice Chord Quiz and keep time with the Metronome as the tempo rises. On the bass, play E, B, E, G and hear how the arpeggio spells out Em11 without ever playing it as a block.
Frequently asked questions
What notes are in Em11?
Em11 contains E, G, B, D, F#, A: root, minor 3rd, perfect 5th, flattened 7th, 9th and 11th. In practice the 5th is often omitted to make room for the extensions. On the bass, the arpeggio above shows where that note sits.
Is Em11 major or minor?
Minor. Its 3rd is G, and the flattened 7th D keeps it mellow. The 9th and 11th add width, not brightness. On the bass, the arpeggio above shows where that note sits.
Where is Em11 used?
Em11 is a minor tonic in jazz, neo-soul and R&B, and a ii chord in major keys. It suits slow tempos and open voicings. On the bass, the arpeggio above shows where that note sits.
How do you play Em11 on the bass?
Outline it with the arpeggio E, B, E, G: root, 5th, root, 3rd. Play one note per beat, with the root E on beat one, and let each note ring. That arpeggio tells the listener exactly which chord is sounding, even though you never play all the notes of Em11 at once.
What notes are in the Em11 bass arpeggio?
The arpeggio is E, B, E, G. It starts on the root E, moves to the 5th B, returns to the root E and finishes on the 3rd G. Those four notes are the chord tones of Em11, and playing them in that order is the standard way to outline the chord on bass.