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
| 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
6 Chords - Left Handers
Chord Chart Legend
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...
