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