As a minor tonicA♭ minor
The natural-minor loop - every chord is drawn from the key's own seven notes.
A♭m6 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The A♭m6 chord is a minor sixth chord built on the root note A♭. Its notes are A♭, C♭, E♭ and F. It's enharmonically the same chord as G♯m6.
Transpose
Quality
Short answer
Minor sixth chords are darker than a plain minor triad but never sour. A major sixth sitting over a minor third gives them a wistful, cinematic quality that turns up in bossa nova, French chanson and film noir scores.
- Notes
- A♭ · C♭ · E♭ · F
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · 5 · 6
- Semitones
- 0 · 3 · 7 · 9
- Note
- A♭
- Quality
- Minor 6
- Symbol
- A♭m6
A♭m6 on piano
4 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play A♭m6 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on A♭, index finger on C♭, middle finger on E♭ and little finger on F. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard A♭ and E♭ are black keys and C♭ and F are white. C♭ is the key you'd normally call B. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- A♭1
- C♭♭3
- E♭5
- F6
A♭m6 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, A♭m6 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. The fretted notes sit between frets 1 and 4. String 2 rings open.
A♭ · C♭ · E♭ · F
Try A♭m6 on the virtual piano
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A♭m6 chord notes
Also known as G♯m6
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | A♭(Ab) | |
| ♭3 | Minor third | 3 | C♭(Cb) | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | E♭(Eb) | |
| 6 | Major sixth | 9 | F |
How to use the A♭m6 chord
The A♭m6 chord is built from a root, a minor third, a perfect fifth and a major sixth. Start at the root A♭ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: A♭, C♭, E♭ and F. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Minor sixth chords act as the iv chord in a major key or as the tonic of a Dorian passage, and they are a staple of jazz turnarounds. They also make a striking substitute for a plain minor chord at a cadence.
How A♭m6 differs from similar chords
A♭m6 adds a major sixth to A♭m, where A♭m7 adds a minor seventh a half step higher. That major sixth forms a tritone with the minor third, which gives the chord its bittersweet tension. The same four notes spell the half-diminished chord built on its sixth.
Where A♭m6 is used
A minor chord works as the tonic of its own key, and as the vi or the ii of a major one. Each progression below is written in the key its numerals name.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the A♭m6 chord?
- The A♭m6 chord contains A♭, C♭, E♭ and F (Ab, Cb, Eb and F in plain text).
- Is the A♭m6 chord major or minor?
- A♭m6 is a minor sixth chord. Minor sixth chords are darker than a plain minor triad but never sour. A major sixth sitting over a minor third gives them a wistful, cinematic quality that turns up in bossa nova, French chanson and film noir scores.
- How do you play A♭m6 on piano?
- Place your fingers on A♭, C♭, E♭ and F and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right. On the keyboard A♭ and E♭ are black keys and C♭ and F are white. C♭ is the key you'd normally call B. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard.
- How do you play A♭m6 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. The fretted notes sit between frets 1 and 4. String 2 rings open.
- What is another name for the A♭m6 chord?
- A♭m6 is enharmonically equivalent to G♯m6. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.