C Minor Sixth Chord (Cm6)

1Composition: what it contains

C – E♭ – G – A

Symbol

Cm6

Also written

Cm6, Cmin6, C-6

Formula

1 ♭3 5 6

2Appearance: diagrams and sound

On the guitar

On the ukulele

On the piano

On the staff

On bass and as an arpeggio

3Indications: what it is used for

Used as a tonic minor chord in jazz, gypsy jazz, bossa nova, tango and film music, often instead of a minor seventh. It is the i chord built from the melodic minor or Dorian scale, and the iv chord in a minor key (where it is a common pre-dominant). The minor sixth chord shares its notes with the half-diminished chord built on its sixth, which gives interesting reharmonisation possibilities. It also appears in cadences such as iv6–I in major keys (a borrowed minor four).

4Dosage: how to practise it

On guitar, learn the four-string shape rooted on the fifth string and the gypsy-jazz shape with the sixth on top; play them with a light swing at 120–180 BPM. On piano, play root-♭3-5-6 in all inversions and practise the minor line cliché (i–imMaj7–im7–im6). Practise iv6–I endings in major keys. On bass, arpeggiate 1-♭3-5-6. Ten minutes daily, alternating with m7 and mMaj7 to hear the colours. On guitar, also try the tonic m6 as a final chord at the end of a minor tune.

5Warnings and common mistakes

The sixth is major, not minor: m6 is not 'minor with a flat sixth'. Do not confuse it with m7♭5: same notes, different root, so the bass decides the name. In minor keys built on natural minor, the sixth degree is flat, so an m6 tonic implies melodic minor or Dorian. Avoid it if the melody contains the flat sixth. Some charts write 'm6' meaning m6/9; check the melody.

6Interactions with chords, scales and keys

Inversions

• Inversion 1 · Cm6/E♭ · E♭ – G – A – C Play
• Inversion 2 · Cm6/G · G – A – C – E♭ Play
• Inversion 3 · Cm6/A · A – C – E♭ – G Play

Scales to play over Cm6

• C Melodic Minor Scale
• C Dorian Mode
• C Major Blues Scale
• C Half-Whole Diminished Scale

7Other presentations available

The same chord from every note

C♯m6 Dm6 E♭m6 Em6 Fm6 F♯m6 Gm6 A♭m6 Am6 B♭m6 Bm6

Other chords on C

C Cm Cdim Caug Csus2 Csus4 C5 C6 C7 Cmaj7 Cm7 Cm7♭5 Cdim7 Cm(maj7) C7sus4 Cadd9 Cm(add9) C6/9 C9 Cmaj9 Cm9 C11 Cm11 C13 C7♭9 C7♯9 C7♯5 C7♭5