Sixth Chord (Major 6 and Minor 6)

Introduction

Sixth chords are exotic chord,sound of this chord are peculiar.it can be major or minor,diminished or augmented.When we say major or minor,the different is only the third,and when we talk about diminished or augmented,the differences on the fifth sharpen or  flatten.

Sixth chord can be describe as whimsical chord.In major & minor 6 chord,6^th  note from chord’s scale  is added.It is written as maj6 or m6.(Example,Amaj6 & Am6)

How to create 6 chord

To create sixth chord from scale,use formula below :

1 - 3(b3) - 5 – 6

1 refer to root what kind of chord u want to create.Example you want to create Amaj6 chord.first,list of all A major notes,show table below  :

Interval	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Notes	A	B	C#	D	E	F#	G#

3 represent third in A major scale,C# note as third.5 as perfect fifth.After create a triad Amaj chord,add 6^th interval note from this scale into Amaj chord.6^th is F# note.Now,new chord was created,the chord become Amaj6 !.

Look at the formula again,what is (b3) ?.This is general formula,what i say just now sixth chord can be major or minor,diminished or augmented.In this formula, b3 refer to minor6 chord.To create minor 6 chord,you should created major 6 first.then,you can modified or change the 3 to b3.

Now,it is time to transform Amaj6 to Am6.First step,look at 3 note is C#.C# is going to be flat become C.Differences between Amaj6 with Am6 is only on it 3^rd ,either 3 or b3,without changing the 6^th.

In Am6 chord,some people are confused,why Am6 use F# as 6^th interval.F# not available in A minor scale.The answer is, Am6 use F# as 6^th interval note.Remember that,6 are not change !.To create m6 chord,start with creating major 6 chord first,then modified 3 to become minor 6 chord.Belom show different Amaj6 & Am6

Amaj6 : A-C#-E-F#

Am6 : A-C-E-F#

 

Remember again ! first create maj6 chord from scale,then replace 3 with b3 without changing 6^th .

Table below show Some notes involve in major,major6,minor & minor 6 chord :

Root	Major Scales	Major (chord)	Major 6 (chord)	Minor 6      (chord)
A	A,B,C#,D,E,F#,G#	A-C#-E	A-C#-E-F#	A-C-E-F#
B	B,C#,D#,E,F#,G#,A#	B-D#-F#	B-D#-F#-G#	B-D-F#-G#
C	C,D,E,F,G,A,B	C-E-G	C-E-G-A	C-Eb-G-A
D	D,E,F#,G,A,B,C#	D-F#-A	D-F#-A-B	D-F-A-B
E	E,F#,G#,A,B,C#,D#	E-G#-B	E-G#-B-C#	E-G-B-C#
F	F,G,A,Bb,C,D,E	F-A-C	F-A-C-D	F-Ab-C-D
G	G,A,B,C,D,E,F#	G-B-D	G-B-D-E	G-Bb-D-E

Red colour note represent Major 3,while blue note represent minor 3b.Brown colour note represent 6 from major scales.

All content written by NRF

Email : nazrul_feez@yahoo.com