2794 / 18210 · Workshop 9 — “Take the A Train”: Dominant Color, ♯11, Secondary Dominants, and Writing Lines Through Static Harmony← prev⊞ allnext →
9.10Why ♯11 is interesting
Plain 11 over D7 would be:
G.
But G clashes with F♯, the major 3rd.
Raise it:
G → G♯.
Now you get a more open, luminous dominant color.
That is why ♯11 is so common on dominant chords of this type.