As a minor tonicG♯ minor
The natural-minor loop - every chord is drawn from the key's own seven notes.
G♯m6 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The G♯m6 chord is a minor sixth chord built on the root note G♯. Its notes are G♯, B, D♯ and E♯. It's enharmonically the same chord as A♭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
- G♯ · B · D♯ · E♯
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · 5 · 6
- Semitones
- 0 · 3 · 7 · 9
- Note
- G♯
- Quality
- Minor 6
- Symbol
- G♯m6
G♯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 G♯m6 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on G♯, index finger on B, middle finger on D♯ and little finger on E♯. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard G♯ and D♯ are black keys and B and E♯ are white. E♯ is the key you'd normally call F. 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.
- G♯1
- B♭3
- D♯5
- E♯6
G♯m6 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, G♯m6 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. The fretted notes sit between frets 1 and 4. String 2 rings open.
G♯ · B · D♯ · E♯
Play G♯m6 on the online piano
Free, in your browser: play with the mouse, your computer keyboard or a USB MIDI keyboard. No sign-up.
G♯m6 chord notes
Also known as A♭m6
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | G♯(G#) | |
| ♭3 | Minor third | 3 | B | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | D♯(D#) | |
| 6 | Major sixth | 9 | E♯(E#) |
How to use the G♯m6 chord
The G♯m6 chord is built from a root, a minor third, a perfect fifth and a major sixth. Start at the root G♯ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: G♯, B, D♯ and E♯. 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 G♯m6 differs from similar chords
G♯m6 adds a major sixth to G♯m, where G♯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 G♯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 G♯m6 chord?
- The G♯m6 chord contains G♯, B, D♯ and E♯ (G#, B, D# and E# in plain text).
- Is the G♯m6 chord major or minor?
- G♯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 G♯m6 on piano?
- Place your fingers on G♯, B, D♯ and E♯ 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 G♯ and D♯ are black keys and B and E♯ are white. E♯ is the key you'd normally call F. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard.
- How do you play G♯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 G♯m6 chord?
- G♯m6 is enharmonically equivalent to A♭m6. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.