A 6th
A6
Notes
A · C♯ · E · F♯
Intervals
- RootA (1P)
- Major 3rdC♯ (3M)
- Perfect 5thE (5P)
- Major 6thF♯ (6M)
Fretboard
Adjust labels, frets, and palette in the interactive view.
Voicings & shapes
Drop-2 voicings (12)
About
The A6 chord (A–C♯–E–F♯) adds the major sixth to a major triad. The sixth is a stable, consonant addition — it does not introduce dissonance the way a 7th does — which gives 6 chords a warm, slightly vintage sound common in jazz, swing, and older pop. They can substitute for A or AMaj7 as tonic harmony when a less tense color is wanted. The F♯ is the defining extension; the 5th can be omitted. On guitar, 6-chord voicings tend to be compact and practical for comping. Compared to AMaj7, the 6 feels more grounded and less harmonically ambiguous — the 6th sits further from the root than the 7th does, so it creates no half-step tension.
Chord diagrams
A 6th voicing charts — tap a sheet to open it full size to save or print.
Similar chords
Chords sharing two or more notes with this one, ranked by overlap.
Scales containing this chord
- A Lydian (I)
- A Major (I)
- A Major Pentatonic (deg 1)
- A Mixolydian (I)
- A♭ Locrian (II)
- A♭ Phrygian (II)
- B Dorian (VII)
- B Mixolydian (VII)
- B Natural Minor (VII)
- B♭ Diminished (deg 8)
- D Lydian (V)
- D Major (V)
- D♭ Diminished (deg 6)
- D♭ Harmonic Minor (VI)
- D♭ Locrian (VI)
- D♭ Natural Minor (VI)
- D♭ Phrygian (VI)
- E Diminished (deg 4)
- E Dorian (IV)
- E Major (IV)
- E Melodic Minor (IV)
- E Mixolydian (IV)
- E♭ Locrian (V)
- F♯ Blues (deg 2)
- F♯ Dorian (III)
- F♯ Minor Pentatonic (deg 2)
- F♯ Natural Minor (III)
- F♯ Phrygian (III)
- G Diminished (deg 2)
- G Lydian (II)
Scales whose notes include every chord tone. The Roman numeral (or scale degree) marks the chord root’s position in the scale.