CHORD REFERENCE

E♭6

E♭ – G – B♭ – C1 3 5 6

The E♭ Major 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
E♭1G3B♭5C6

E♭6 is Eb, G, Bb, C — the 1, 3, 5 and 6 above the root E♭.

Piano
GCE♭B♭
Guitar

Ways to play it

A-shape barre — 6th fret
6fr×

Guitar — every position (frets 0–12)

357912eGB♭CE♭BCE♭GB♭GGB♭CE♭GDE♭GB♭CAB♭CE♭GEGB♭CE♭

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)

Movable shape
GCEA3fr
357912AB♭CE♭GEGB♭CE♭CCE♭GB♭CGGB♭CE♭G

The shape above is movable up the neck. Every position of the chord tones on the ukulele neck — any group that sounds only Eb, G, Bb, C plays the chord.

In which keys

E♭6 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 E♭ chords

Triads

E♭MajorE♭mMinorE♭5Power Chord (5)E♭dimDiminishedE♭augAugmentedE♭sus2Suspended 2ndE♭sus4Suspended 4th

Sixths & sevenths

E♭m6Minor 6thE♭7Dominant 7thE♭maj7Major 7thE♭m7Minor 7thE♭m(maj7)Minor–Major 7thE♭dim7Diminished 7thE♭m7♭5Half-Diminished (m7♭5)E♭7sus47sus4

Altered dominants

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

Extended & added

E♭add9Added 9thE♭6/96/9E♭9Dominant 9thE♭maj9Major 9thE♭m9Minor 9thE♭11Dominant 11thE♭13Dominant 13th
Major 6th on another root
CC♯D♭DE♭EFF♯G♭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.