Chords
Ab Sixth
Ab · C · Eb · F
The major sixth chord — a major triad with a sixth added. Bright, finished, and less restless than a major seventh.
Also written Abadd6 · Abadd13 · AbM6
Ab Sixth
Ab · C · Eb · F
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | Ab3 · C4 · Eb4 · F4 | |
| Open (drop 2) | Eb3 · Ab3 · C4 · F4 | |
| Shell | Ab3 · C4 · F4 | |
| Rootless | C3 · Eb3 · F3 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
Ab Sixth (Ab6) contains the notes Ab · C · Eb · F, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords
Inversions
An inversion of Ab Sixth puts a chord tone other than Ab in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales Ab Sixth belongs to.
In which keys
Ab Sixth is diatonic to 6 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
Scales that contain it
Ab Sixth fits inside these scales, each built on Ab.
- Ab Major PentatonicAb · Bb · C · Eb · F
- Ab Major BluesAb · Bb · Cb · C · Eb · F
- Ab MajorAb · Bb · C · Db · Eb · F · G
- Ab LydianAb · Bb · C · D · Eb · F · G
- Ab MixolydianAb · Bb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb
- Ab Lydian DominantAb · Bb · C · D · Eb · F · Gb
- Ab Hungarian MajorAb · B · C · D · Eb · F · Gb
- Ab Lydian #9Ab · B · C · D · Eb · F · G
Understanding the Ab Sixth chord
Names and symbols
Ab6 is the chord symbol for Ab Sixth; it is also written Abadd6, Abadd13, AbM6.
Ab Sixth and G# Sixth are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. G# Sixth
How it is built
On Ab it is Ab · C · Eb · F, stacking 1P · 3M · 5P · 6M. The sixth is added above the fifth rather than replacing anything.
How it is used
Before the major seventh became the default jazz tonic, the 6 chord was. It ends a swing arrangement with more colour than a plain triad and less forward lean than a maj7, which is exactly why big-band writing closes on it.
It shares all four notes with the minor seventh chord a third below, so Ab6 and that chord are two readings of the same pitch set.
Learn this properly
Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and SeventhsCommon questions
- What notes are in Ab6?
- Ab6 contains Ab · C · Eb · F. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
- What is the difference between a 6 chord and a maj7?
- The added note. A 6 chord adds a major sixth; a maj7 adds a major seventh. The 6 sounds more settled, the maj7 more lush.
- Is a 6 chord the same as a minor seventh?
- It contains the same four notes as the minor seventh chord a third below. Which one you call it depends on which note is functioning as the root.
- What notes are in the Ab Sixth chord?
- The Ab Sixth chord contains the notes Ab · C · Eb · F: the root Ab with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 6M stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Ab, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the Ab Sixth chord?
- Measured from Ab, the Ab Sixth chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 6M. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.