E Minor Sixth Chord (Em6)

1Composition: what it contains

E – G – B – C♯

Symbol

Em6

Also written

Em6, Emin6, E-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 · Em6/G · G – B – C♯ – E Play
• Inversion 2 · Em6/B · B – C♯ – E – G Play
• Inversion 3 · Em6/C♯ · C♯ – E – G – B Play

Scales to play over Em6

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

7Other presentations available

The same chord from every note

Cm6 C♯m6 Dm6 E♭m6 Fm6 F♯m6 Gm6 A♭m6 Am6 B♭m6 Bm6

Other chords on E

E Em Edim Eaug Esus2 Esus4 E5 E6 E7 Emaj7 Em7 Em7♭5 Edim7 Em(maj7) E7sus4 Eadd9 Em(add9) E6/9 E9 Emaj9 Em9 E11 Em11 E13 E7♭9 E7♯9 E7♯5 E7♭5