As the tonic (I)D♭ major
Home. The loop leaves D♭6 and keeps coming back to it.
D♭6 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The D♭6 chord is a major sixth chord built on the root note D♭. Its notes are D♭, F, A♭ and B♭. It's enharmonically the same chord as C♯6.
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Short answer
Major sixth chords sound bright and settled without the pull of a seventh. Adding a major sixth to a major triad gives a warm, slightly retro colour that filled swing bands and fifties pop, and it still ends a song beautifully.
- Notes
- D♭ · F · A♭ · B♭
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · 6
- Semitones
- 0 · 4 · 7 · 9
- Note
- D♭
- Quality
- Major 6
- Symbol
- D♭6
D♭6 on piano
4 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play D♭6 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on D♭, index finger on F, middle finger on A♭ and little finger on B♭. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard D♭, A♭ and B♭ are black keys and F is white. 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.
- D♭1
- F3
- A♭5
- B♭6
D♭6 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, D♭6 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. The fretted notes sit between frets 2 and 4. Don't play string 6.
D♭ · F · A♭ · B♭
Try D♭6 on the virtual piano
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D♭6 chord notes
Also known as C♯6
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | D♭(Db) | |
| 3 | Major third | 4 | F | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | A♭(Ab) | |
| 6 | Major sixth | 9 | B♭(Bb) |
How to use the D♭6 chord
The D♭6 chord is built from a root, a major third, a perfect fifth and a major sixth. Start at the root D♭ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: D♭, F, A♭ and B♭. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Major sixth chords work as a softer substitute for a major triad, especially as a final chord where a maj7 would sound too jazzy. Swing, rockabilly, bossa nova and country all lean on them.
How D♭6 differs from similar chords
D♭6 and D♭maj7 both add one note to D♭, but the sixth sits a whole step below the major seventh and makes no dissonance with the root. D♭6 has exactly the same notes as the minor seventh chord a minor third below it, so the bass note decides which of the two you hear.
Where D♭6 is used
A major chord is at home as a tonic, and just as useful as the IV or the V of a neighbouring key. Each progression below is written in the key its numerals name.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the D♭6 chord?
- The D♭6 chord contains D♭, F, A♭ and B♭ (Db, F, Ab and Bb in plain text).
- Is the D♭6 chord major or minor?
- D♭6 is a major sixth chord. Major sixth chords sound bright and settled without the pull of a seventh. Adding a major sixth to a major triad gives a warm, slightly retro colour that filled swing bands and fifties pop, and it still ends a song beautifully.
- How do you play D♭6 on piano?
- Place your fingers on D♭, F, A♭ and B♭ 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 D♭, A♭ and B♭ are black keys and F is white. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard.
- How do you play D♭6 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. The fretted notes sit between frets 2 and 4. Don't play string 6.
- What is another name for the D♭6 chord?
- D♭6 is enharmonically equivalent to C♯6. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.