Major 6th
6
0 - 4 - 7 - 9Major + major 6th
About Major 6th
A major sixth chord is a four-note chord built from a major triad plus a major sixth — in C that is C, E, G and A, written C6. It contains the same notes as A minor seventh, and which of the two a listener hears depends entirely on what the bass is doing.
Notes and formula
The formula is 1 – 3 – 5 – 6, or 0 – 4 – 7 – 9 in semitones from the root. The sixth is added inside the octave rather than above it, which is what distinguishes it from a thirteenth.
Rearrange the same four notes starting from A and they spell A–C–E–G, an A minor seventh. Two chords, one set of notes, and the difference is made by the bass note and by what came before it — one of the clearest demonstrations in harmony that a chord is a context and not just a collection.
How to play it
On guitar C6 is x32210, one finger away from an open C major, and the shape is as easy as the chord it colours.
On piano the chord is C–E–G–A, and the sixth is normally kept in the upper voice. Placed under the fifth it starts to sound like the root of a minor seventh, which is exactly the ambiguity the chord carries by construction.
What it does
A major sixth is a resting chord — more coloured than a bare triad, more settled than a major seventh. Before the major seventh became the default jazz tonic in the nineteen-fifties, this was the chord that ended arrangements, and it still ends them whenever an arranger wants a period rather than a comma.
Because it contains no seventh, it does not imply a key the way maj7 and dominant chords do. That makes it useful in modal and folk writing where a full seventh chord would sound too specific.
Where you hear it
Swing and early jazz use it constantly, both as a tonic and as the last chord of a phrase. Bossa nova inherited the habit, and so did the Beatles: the final chord of She Loves You is a sixth, and it was unusual enough in 1963 for their producer to argue about it.
In country and western swing the chord is standard on the tonic, often in place of the plain major throughout an entire song.
Sixth, thirteenth and minor seventh
A sixth and a thirteenth are the same pitch class an octave apart, and the names carry information: a sixth chord has no seventh, a thirteenth chord always does. C6 is C–E–G–A; C13 is C–E–G–B♭–D–A and is a dominant.
The overlap with minor sevenths is more useful than confusing once it is deliberate. Playing an Am7 shape over a C bass is the fastest way to reach C6 on any instrument, and jazz players think of the two as one shape with two functions.
Scales that contain it
Ionian, Lydian and Mixolydian all contain the chord — every mode with a major third and a natural sixth. Because there is no seventh in the chord, Mixolydian is available in a way it is not over a major seventh, which is what makes the sixth chord so at home in blues-inflected writing.
The major pentatonic contains every note, which is why melodies over sixth chords tend to sit inside it and why the chord sounds so unforced in folk and country.
Frequently asked questions
What notes are in a C6 chord?
C, E, G and A. On guitar the open shape is x32210.
Is C6 the same as Am7?
The same four notes, a different chord. C6 has C in the bass and behaves like a tonic; Am7 has A in the bass and behaves like a minor seventh. The bass note decides which one is being heard.
What is the difference between C6 and C13?
The seventh. C6 is a major triad plus a sixth and rests. C13 is a dominant seventh with extensions up to the thirteenth and pulls. The sixth and thirteenth are the same note; the rest of the chord is not.