What notes are in C#6?

C#6 contains C# · E# · G# · A#. 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 C# Sixth chord?

The C# Sixth chord contains the notes C# · E# · G# · A#: the root C# 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 C#, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the C# Sixth chord?

Measured from C#, the C# 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.

C# Sixth Chord (C#6): Notes, Piano & Guitar

Play it on your instrument

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Voicings on the piano

Voicing	Notes	Play it on your instrument
Closed, root position	C#3 · E#3 · G#3 · A#3
Open (drop 2)	G#2 · C#3 · E#3 · A#3
Shell	C#3 · E#3 · A#3
Rootless	E#3 · G#3 · A#3

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

C# Sixth (C#6) contains the notes C# · E# · G# · A#, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords

Inversions

An inversion of C# Sixth puts a chord tone other than C# in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales C# Sixth belongs to.

In which keys

C# Sixth is diatonic to 6 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

F# majorV6Dominant
D# minorVII6Subdominant
Db majorI6Tonic
Bb minorIII6Tonic
Ab majorIV6Subdominant
F minorVI6Subdominant

Scales that contain it

C# Sixth fits inside these scales, each built on C#.

C# Major PentatonicC# · D# · E# · G# · A#
C# Major BluesC# · D# · E · E# · G# · A#
C# MajorC# · D# · E# · F# · G# · A# · B#
C# MixolydianC# · D# · E# · F# · G# · A# · B
C# ScriabinC# · D · E# · G# · A#
C# BebopC# · D# · E# · F# · G# · A# · B · B#
C# Bebop MinorC# · D# · E · E# · F# · G# · A# · B
C# IchikosuchoC# · D# · E# · F# · G · G# · A# · B#

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with C# Sixth: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

C#C# · E# · G#
C#5C# · G#

Richer

C#6/9C# · E# · G# · A# · D#
C#maj13C# · E# · G# · B# · D# · A#
C#13C# · E# · G# · B · D# · A#
C#7add6C# · E# · G# · B · A#
C#maj7add13C# · E# · G# · A# · B# · D#
C#13b9C# · E# · G# · B · D · A#

Common substitutions

A#mA# · C# · E#
A#m is the relative minor: it shares two notes with C#6 and often stands in for it.

Sixth on every root

C6 Db6 D6 Eb6 E6 F6 F#6 Gb6 G6 G#6 Ab6 A6 Bb6 B6

Open it in a tool

Understanding the C# Sixth chord

Names and symbols

C#6 is the chord symbol for C# Sixth; it is also written C#add6, C#add13, C#M6.

C# Sixth and Db Sixth are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. Db Sixth

How it is built

On C# it is C# · E# · G# · A#, 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 C#6 and that chord are two readings of the same pitch set.

Learn this properly

Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and Sevenths

Common questions

What notes are in C#6?: C#6 contains C# · E# · G# · A#. 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 C# Sixth chord?: The C# Sixth chord contains the notes C# · E# · G# · A#: the root C# 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 C#, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the C# Sixth chord?: Measured from C#, the C# 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.