# Sixth chords

> A sixth chord is a triad with the sixth scale degree added on top. Major sixths sound warm and slightly old-fashioned, minor sixths sound like film noir, and both are usually a one-finger edit of a shape you already play.

Sixth chords add the sixth scale degree to a triad. On guitar they are unusually easy, because the sixth is often already there in the open position — C6 is C with one finger moved, and G6 is G plus a single note on the high E string.

They sound warm and slightly old-fashioned: big-band swing, 1950s ballads, and the twangy rhythm parts of early rock and roll. Where a plain major chord would sound too final, a 6th keeps the music moving.

That is the whole idea behind the family. A triad ending a phrase says "finished"; the same chord with a sixth on top says "and then…", which is why sixth chords cluster in the last bar of a swing tune and in the intros of early rock records, where the band wants the listener leaning forward.

Minor sixth chords are a different colour entirely: film-noir, melancholy and jazzy. Try ending a minor progression on a m6 instead of the plain minor chord and listen to the mood change. The classic move is to slide a m6 shape down two frets to make a m7, which is the sound of every noir soundtrack ever written.

The one thing to watch is the added note itself. Because the sixth is usually the highest note you play, it is also the first to disappear if a finger rolls flat, and a sixth chord missing its sixth is just a plain triad with a duller top string. Check the top string separately before you blame the shape.

The family is large — 26 shapes across major and minor sixths — but 6 of them are open-position and the rest are barre shapes you will already know from other families. Learn the two open shapes you meet most often, C6 and Am6, and the rest of the page becomes a reference rather than a study plan.

## All shapes

| Symbol | Name | Notes | Frets | Link |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| C6 | C sixth | C E G A | x 3 2 2 1 0 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/c6 |
| Cm6 | C minor 6th | C Eb G A | x 3 1 2 1 3 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#c-minor-6 |
| C#6 | C# sixth | C# E# G# A# | x 4 6 6 6 6 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#c-sharp6 |
| C#m6 | C# minor 6th | C# E G# A# | x 4 6 6 5 6 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#c-sharp-minor-6 |
| D6 | D sixth | D F# A B | x x 0 2 0 2 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#d6 |
| Dm6 | D minor 6th | D F A B | x x 0 2 0 1 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#d-minor-6 |
| Eb6 | Eb sixth | Eb G Bb C | x 6 8 8 8 8 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#e-flat6 |
| Ebm6 | Eb minor 6th | Eb Gb Bb C | x 6 8 8 7 8 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#e-flat-minor-6 |
| E6 | E sixth | E G# B C# | 0 2 2 1 2 0 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/e6 |
| Em6 | E minor 6th | E G B C# | 0 2 2 0 2 2 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#e-minor-6 |
| F6 | F sixth | F A C D | 1 x 3 2 3 1 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#f6 |
| Fm6 | F minor 6th | F Ab C D | 1 x 3 1 3 1 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#f-minor-6 |
| F#6 | F# sixth | F# A# C# D# | 2 4 4 3 4 2 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#f-sharp6 |
| F#m6 | F# minor 6th | F# A C# D# | 2 4 4 2 4 4 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#f-sharp-minor-6 |
| G6 | G sixth | G B D E | 3 2 0 0 0 0 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#g6 |
| Gm6 | G minor 6th | G Bb D E | 3 x 2 3 3 0 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#g-minor-6 |
| Ab6 | Ab sixth | Ab C Eb F | 4 6 6 5 6 4 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#a-flat6 |
| Abm6 | Ab minor 6th | Ab Cb Eb F | 4 6 6 4 6 6 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#a-flat-minor-6 |
| A6 | A sixth | A C# E F# | x 0 2 2 2 2 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#a6 |
| Am6 | A minor 6th | A C E F# | x 0 2 2 1 2 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#a-minor-6 |
| Bb6 | Bb sixth | Bb D F G | x 1 3 3 3 3 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#b-flat6 |
| Bbm6 | Bb minor 6th | Bb Db F G | x 1 3 3 2 3 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#b-flat-minor-6 |
| B6 | B sixth | B D# F# G# | x 2 4 4 4 4 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#b6 |
| Bm6 | B minor 6th | B D F# G# | x 2 0 1 0 2 | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords#b-minor-6 |

## Practice

1. Play C, then C6, then back to C. Only the finger adding the sixth moves. Keep the rest of the shape still and listen to the top string.
2. End a phrase on Am, then end the same phrase on Am6. The minor sixth is the whole mood change in one note.
3. Slide a m6 shape down two frets to make a m7, then back up. That two-fret slide is the noir sound, and it works from any m6 shape on this page.

## Practical use

Start with the major sixth shapes, because they double as an easy alternative to a plain triad when a phrase needs to keep moving. The minor sixth is the one you will use to add a film-noir colour to a minor progression.

Canonical page: https://openguitarchords.com/chords/sixth-chords