Dm11

Dm11 is a musical chord notation for a D minor eleventh chord. It is an extended harmony built on the root note D, combining a D minor triad with a minor seventh, and adding both the ninth and eleventh. The common sounding version includes the notes D, F, A, C, E, and G. In chord symbols the Dm11 is sometimes written as Dm7(9,11) to indicate the added ninth and eleventh explicitly. The thirteenth (B) is occasionally included in larger extensions, but it is not part of the basic Dm11.

Voicing and practice: Because the eleventh can clash with the minor third, many voicings either omit the fifth or the 11th, or place the 11th above the bass in higher voicings. Typical close voicings may be D-F-C-E-G or D-F-A-C-E; open voicings may spread the notes across strings or two octaves depending on instrument and context.

Function and usage: Dm11 commonly occurs as a ii chord in jazz progressions, especially in ii-V-I cadences in concert keys (for example, Dm11 to G7 to C). It also appears in pop and contemporary music as a richer substitute for Dm7. The chord tends to resolve toward a dominant chord or toward a related tonality, with voice-leading often guiding the 11th and 9th tendencies to resolve to the G or E notes in the following chord.

Notation notes: Some performers omit the 11th to simplify the sound, yielding Dm7 or Dm9 in practice. The chord may also be labeled Dm9/11 to emphasize both the 9th and 11th in certain arrangements.