CHORD REFERENCE

Am6

A – C – E – F♯1 b3 5 6

The A Minor 6th chord and everything around it — the notes and how they are built, the shape on piano and guitar, the sound, and the keys it belongs to.

Notes
A1Cb3E5F♯6

Am6 is A, C, E, F# — the 1, b3, 5 and 6 above the root A.

Piano
ACEF♯
Guitar

Ways to play it

A-shape (open strings)
×

Guitar — every position (frets 0–12)

357912eEF♯ACEBCEF♯AGACEF♯DEF♯ACAACEF♯AEEF♯ACE

Root notes are red. The shapes above are movable — an E-shape has its root on the low E string, an A-shape on the A string. any group of these notes on the neck sounds the chord.

Ukulele (standard G–C–E–A)

357912AACEF♯AEEF♯ACECCEF♯ACGACEF♯

Every position of the chord tones on the ukulele neck — any group that sounds only A, C, E, F# plays the chord.

In which keys

Am6 is a colour chord — it is not diatonic to a plain major or minor key, which is what gives it its character. It shows up as a borrowed chord, an altered dominant, or a passing sound.

Other A chords

Triads

AMajorAmMinorA5Power Chord (5)AdimDiminishedAaugAugmentedAsus2Suspended 2ndAsus4Suspended 4th

Sixths & sevenths

A6Major 6thA7Dominant 7thAmaj7Major 7thAm7Minor 7thAm(maj7)Minor–Major 7thAdim7Diminished 7thAm7♭5Half-Diminished (m7♭5)A7sus47sus4

Altered dominants

A7♭57♭5A7♯57♯5 (Augmented 7th)A7♭97♭9A7♯97♯9 (Hendrix Chord)

Extended & added

Aadd9Added 9thA6/96/9A9Dominant 9thAmaj9Major 9thAm9Minor 9thA11Dominant 11thA13Dominant 13th
Minor 6th on another root
CC♯D♭DE♭D♯EFF♯GA♭G♯AB♭B
Keep exploring

Work out the chords of a whole key with the Scale & Chord Finder, name a chord from its notes with the Chord Identifier, or browse every chord tool. The theory behind how chords are built is in the free Cloud Atelier music guides.