C 6th
C6
Notes
C · E · G · A
Intervals
- RootC (1P)
- Major 3rdE (3M)
- Perfect 5thG (5P)
- Major 6thA (6M)
Fretboard
Adjust labels, frets, and palette in the interactive view.
Voicings & shapes
Drop-2 voicings (12)
About
The C6 chord (C–E–G–A) 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 C or CMaj7 as tonic harmony when a less tense color is wanted. The A is the defining extension; the 5th can be omitted. On guitar, 6-chord voicings tend to be compact and practical for comping. Compared to CMaj7, 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
C 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
- C Lydian (I)
- C Major (I)
- C Major Pentatonic (deg 1)
- C Mixolydian (I)
- A Blues (deg 2)
- A Dorian (III)
- A Minor Pentatonic (deg 2)
- A Natural Minor (III)
- A Phrygian (III)
- B Locrian (II)
- B Phrygian (II)
- B♭ Diminished (deg 2)
- B♭ Lydian (II)
- D Dorian (VII)
- D Mixolydian (VII)
- D Natural Minor (VII)
- D♭ Diminished (deg 8)
- E Diminished (deg 6)
- E Harmonic Minor (VI)
- E Locrian (VI)
- E Natural Minor (VI)
- E Phrygian (VI)
- F Lydian (V)
- F Major (V)
- F♯ Locrian (V)
- G Diminished (deg 4)
- G Dorian (IV)
- G Major (IV)
- G Melodic Minor (IV)
- G Mixolydian (IV)
Scales whose notes include every chord tone. The Roman numeral (or scale degree) marks the chord root’s position in the scale.