Chord family · 24 shapes
Sixth chords
A sixth chord adds the major sixth to a major or minor triad. C6 is C, E, G and A; Cm6 is C, Eb, G and A. The sixth stays major in both chord types.
The C6 shape shown here is x-3-2-2-1-0. Compared with open C, the G string moves from open G to A at fret 2. This voicing omits the fifth G but keeps the root, third and added sixth.
Sixth
12 shapes · 2 with their own pageMinor 6th
12 shapesHow to use sixth chords in a song
G6 is another simple comparison: play open G, then release the high E string from fret 3 to open E. That E is the sixth of G. The added sixth is therefore not always a new finger or the highest fretted note.
For a major-to-minor sixth change, keep the root and sixth while lowering the major third. C6 to Cm6 changes E to Eb. Compare the actual diagrams before choosing which fingers to keep down: different voicings may rearrange more than one string.
A minor sixth and a minor seventh have different added notes. In Am6 the added note is F#; in Am7 it is G. Transposing an entire m6 shape changes its root and does not turn it into an m7 on the same root.
Pick the added sixth separately, then strum the chord. If it is muted, the intended colour disappears. Practise the sixth chord beside its plain triad so your ear can tell whether the added note is ringing.
If you only try two of the shapes on this page, try Cm6 and C#6: both can be reached from shapes you already know, so the change stays playable at speed. Listen to the chord that follows it in the loop — the resolution is the point of the chord, not the chord itself.
How to practise sixth chords
- Compare C with C6. On the shapes shown here, the G string changes from open to fret 2; check the other strings remain clear.
- End a phrase on Am, then on Am6. Listen to the added F# and the different colour it creates.
- Compare Am6 with Am7 using their diagrams. Name the added note in each chord, F# then G, without shifting the whole chord to another root.
Sixth chords in real songs
Sixth chords turn up wherever a song wants vintage colour rather than a plain triad. Three charts on this site use them:
- Georgia on My Mind: opens on C6 and slides to Cm6 in the same phrase, which is the major-to-minor sixth move in its purest form
- Bye Bye Blackbird: a jazz standard built on C6 and Cm6 as home chords rather than passing colours
- The Boxer: uses a G6 as a passing chord between G and the next change
Printable family chart
Sixth chords with their own pages
These are the ones that turn up often enough in songs to deserve a full page — fingerings in every position, real progressions, and the songs that use them.