Chords
Db Sixth
Db · F · Ab · Bb
The major sixth chord — a major triad with a sixth added. Bright, finished, and less restless than a major seventh.
Also written Dbadd6 · Dbadd13 · DbM6
Db Sixth
Db · F · Ab · Bb
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | Db3 · F3 · Ab3 · Bb3 | |
| Open (drop 2) | Ab2 · Db3 · F3 · Bb3 | |
| Shell | Db3 · F3 · Bb3 | |
| Rootless | F3 · Ab3 · Bb3 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
Db Sixth (Db6) contains the notes Db · F · Ab · Bb, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords
Inversions
An inversion of Db Sixth puts a chord tone other than Db in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales Db Sixth belongs to.
In which keys
Db Sixth is diatonic to 6 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
Scales that contain it
Db Sixth fits inside these scales, each built on Db.
- Db Major PentatonicDb · Eb · F · Ab · Bb
- Db Major BluesDb · Eb · Fb · F · Ab · Bb
- Db MajorDb · Eb · F · Gb · Ab · Bb · C
- Db LydianDb · Eb · F · G · Ab · Bb · C
- Db MixolydianDb · Eb · F · Gb · Ab · Bb · Cb
- Db Lydian DominantDb · Eb · F · G · Ab · Bb · Cb
- Db Hungarian MajorDb · E · F · G · Ab · Bb · Cb
- Db Lydian #9Db · E · F · G · Ab · Bb · C
Understanding the Db Sixth chord
Names and symbols
Db6 is the chord symbol for Db Sixth; it is also written Dbadd6, Dbadd13, DbM6.
Db Sixth and C# Sixth are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. C# Sixth
How it is built
On Db it is Db · F · Ab · Bb, 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 Db6 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 Db6?
- Db6 contains Db · F · Ab · Bb. 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 Db Sixth chord?
- The Db Sixth chord contains the notes Db · F · Ab · Bb: the root Db 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 Db, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the Db Sixth chord?
- Measured from Db, the Db 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.