Chords
Gb Sixth
Gb · Bb · Db · Eb
The major sixth chord — a major triad with a sixth added. Bright, finished, and less restless than a major seventh.
Also written Gbadd6 · Gbadd13 · GbM6
Gb Sixth
Gb · Bb · Db · Eb
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | Gb3 · Bb3 · Db4 · Eb4 | |
| Open (drop 2) | Db3 · Gb3 · Bb3 · Eb4 | |
| Shell | Gb3 · Bb3 · Eb4 | |
| Rootless | Bb3 · Db4 · Eb4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
Gb Sixth (Gb6) contains the notes Gb · Bb · Db · Eb, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords
Inversions
An inversion of Gb Sixth puts a chord tone other than Gb in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales Gb Sixth belongs to.
In which keys
Gb Sixth is diatonic to 6 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
Scales that contain it
Gb Sixth fits inside these scales, each built on Gb.
- Gb Major PentatonicGb · Ab · Bb · Db · Eb
- Gb MajorGb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F
- Gb LydianGb · Ab · Bb · C · Db · Eb · F
- Gb MixolydianGb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb
- Gb Lydian DominantGb · Ab · Bb · C · Db · Eb · Fb
- Gb Hungarian MajorGb · A · Bb · C · Db · Eb · Fb
- Gb Lydian #9Gb · A · Bb · C · Db · Eb · F
- Gb BebopGb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · F
Understanding the Gb Sixth chord
Names and symbols
Gb6 is the chord symbol for Gb Sixth; it is also written Gbadd6, Gbadd13, GbM6.
Gb Sixth and F# Sixth are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. F# Sixth
How it is built
On Gb it is Gb · Bb · Db · Eb, 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 Gb6 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 Gb6?
- Gb6 contains Gb · Bb · Db · Eb. 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 Gb Sixth chord?
- The Gb Sixth chord contains the notes Gb · Bb · Db · Eb: the root Gb 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 Gb, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the Gb Sixth chord?
- Measured from Gb, the Gb 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.