Chords
F# Sixth
F# · A# · C# · D#
The major sixth chord — a major triad with a sixth added. Bright, finished, and less restless than a major seventh.
Also written F#add6 · F#add13 · F#M6
F# Sixth
F# · A# · C# · D#
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | F#3 · A#3 · C#4 · D#4 | |
| Open (drop 2) | C#3 · F#3 · A#3 · D#4 | |
| Shell | F#3 · A#3 · D#4 | |
| Rootless | A#3 · C#4 · D#4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
F# Sixth (F#6) contains the notes F# · A# · C# · D#, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords
Inversions
An inversion of F# Sixth puts a chord tone other than F# in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales F# Sixth belongs to.
In which keys
F# Sixth is diatonic to 6 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
Scales that contain it
F# Sixth fits inside these scales, each built on F#.
- F# Major PentatonicF# · G# · A# · C# · D#
- F# Major BluesF# · G# · A · A# · C# · D#
- F# MajorF# · G# · A# · B · C# · D# · E#
- F# LydianF# · G# · A# · B# · C# · D# · E#
- F# MixolydianF# · G# · A# · B · C# · D# · E
- F# Lydian DominantF# · G# · A# · B# · C# · D# · E
- F# Half-Whole DiminishedF# · G · A · A# · B# · C# · D# · E
- F# ScriabinF# · G · A# · C# · D#
Understanding the F# Sixth chord
Names and symbols
F#6 is the chord symbol for F# Sixth; it is also written F#add6, F#add13, F#M6.
F# Sixth and Gb Sixth are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. Gb Sixth
How it is built
On F# it is F# · A# · C# · D#, 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 F#6 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 F#6?
- F#6 contains F# · A# · C# · D#. 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 F# Sixth chord?
- The F# Sixth chord contains the notes F# · A# · C# · D#: the root F# 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 F#, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the F# Sixth chord?
- Measured from F#, the F# 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.