Package leaflet · Information for the musician · Interval
Minor Sixth Interval
Eight half steps. Yearning, melancholic and expressive, often heard as romantic or tragic.
- 8 semitones
1Composition: what it contains
- Semitones
- 8
- Abbreviation
- m6
- Inversion
- major third
- Consonance
- imperfect consonance
| From | To | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| C | A♭ | |
| C♯ | A | |
| D | B♭ | |
| E♭ | C♭ | |
| E | C | |
| F | D♭ | |
| F♯ | D | |
| G | E♭ | |
| A♭ | F♭ | |
| A | F | |
| B♭ | G♭ | |
| B | G |
2Appearance: diagrams and sound
3Indications: what it is used for
The minor sixth is the flat sixth degree of the natural minor scale, the interval behind many emotional melodic leaps and film themes. It appears in first-inversion major chords (between the third and the root above), and in the ♭13 tension of dominant chords. Inverted, it becomes a major third. In harmonised melodies, parallel sixths sound sweet and full. Arpeggios of minor chords often leap a minor sixth.
4Dosage: how to practise it
On guitar, eight frets on one string, or one fret lower on the string two strings higher when the second string is involved, two frets lower otherwise. On piano, eight half steps. Sing the fifth to the minor third above in a minor scale, or play a major triad in first inversion and isolate its outer notes. Train ascending and descending minor sixths daily for three minutes, comparing with the major sixth. Practise harmonised scales in sixths on guitar.
5Warnings and common mistakes
Do not confuse it with the augmented fifth: same sound, but letters five apart instead of six. It is easily confused by ear with the major sixth or the perfect fifth; isolate it with reference melodies. In chord symbols, ♭6 and ♭13 denote the same pitch class but different contexts. A minor sixth inverted is a major third, not a minor third.
6Other presentations available
Read this leaflet carefully before playing. Keep it near your instrument. Free to use, print and share for personal and educational use.