HOME

6th Guitar Chords

major 6th

6th guitar chords - major triads with an added major 6th interval - it has a root, a major 3rd, a perfect 5th and a major 6th.

Put simply, a 6th chord is a major chord with an added 6th. The symbol for the chord is simply 6, e.g., C major 6th would be written as C6.

The chord formula for a 6th chord is 1 - 3 - 5 - 6

The featured song for this session is Walk On The Wild Side by Lou Reed. It is a great introduction to playing a 6th chord, and will give you a handy insight into how a 6 chord can influence the overall sound and feel of a song. F6 is used in this song and the following is an example of how to calculate the chord.

Example... Calculating F6
  • 6 chords consist of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th notes of a Major Scale
  • F chords are built around the F major scale which consists of 1 flat - Bb.
  • F major scale reads: F - G - A - Bb - C - D - E - F
  • Formula for a 6 chord = 1 - 3 - 5 - 6
  • Substitute notes into the formula (1=F, 3=A, 5=C, 6=D)
  • The F6 chord reads: F - A - C - D
6th (6) Chord Table
6 chord A B♭ B C C# D E♭ E F F# G A♭
Root A B♭ B C C# D E♭ E F F# G A♭
Major 3rd C# D D# E E#(F) F# G G# A A# B C
Perfect 5th E F F# G G# A B♭ B C C# D E♭
Major 6th F# G G# A A# B C C# D D# E F

6 Chords - Right Handers

Chord Chart Legend Chart Legend

6 Chords - Left Handers

Chord Chart Legend Major Guitar Chords for Lefties
6th Lefty Chords - Part 1
6th Lefty Chords - Part 2
6th Lefty Chords - Part 3

Outro...

I hope you have enjoyed this section on 6th Guitar Chords. Although 6th chords are not used very often in modern music, they do provide variation and interest.

Try this - | A | A6 | A | A6 | D | Dsus4 | A | A6 |

Play this in 4:4 time, at a moderate tempo. Each chord is to be played for the whole bar. It's an interesting sound and can be a great way to finish a song in any particular key. Next time you play a tune in any given key, try finishing the song with the key 6th chord. See what you think...
Back to Guitar Chords Back to Top

Contact Me

Irish Boy