The minute we play that D minor chord, we feel we have wandered away from home, but there is no immediate need to return. Major, minor, and dominant chords all have very strong roles to play in creating and alleviating this tension. Not only do they have an identity issue, sixth chords also lack a strong sense of purpose. So, unlike with major, minor, and dominant chords, sixth chords can just vanish if you change the voicing. In jazz, where minor sixth chords are common, those same notes are often considered a form of F9, minus the root. Place the A in the bass and you have an A half-diminished chord, or Aø. If you simply move that A to the bass, you have an Am7.Ĭm6 uses C-Eb-G-A. Sixth chords, on the other hand, can be called different things, depending on voicing and context.įor example, a C6, or C major added 6, uses these notes: C-E-G-A, with A being the sixth note up from C. (Yes, in certain context there may be exceptions to how these notes function, but 99% of the time, a C major is a C major.) Same is true with C minor (C-Eb-G) and dominant seventh (C-E-G-Bb) chords. Play G-E-C and you still have a C major chord, though in a less stable form. Any time you play the notes C-E-G, with no added notes, you are unambiguously playing a C major chord. What I mean by identity is this: major chords are major chords no matter how you invert them or orchestrate them. Sixth chords lack both of these characteristics. They each have a definite identity and they take us places, either away from, or back to the root. Major, minor, and dominant seventh chords are the most powerful chords in music. Here’s a look at sixth chords and how to use them to stir the muse or add a little spice to your songs. Yet sixth chords can juice up your songs by adding contemplative dissonance (in the case of major sixths) or brooding mystery (in the case of minor sixths).
Sixth chords are curious creatures, perhaps best defined by what they aren’t rather than what they are, and by what they don’t do as opposed to what they do. Sixth chords have an inherent lack of identity and purpose that can be riveting - a sixth chord can provide ambiguity, set curiously dark moods, and add a layer of complexity to your music.
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