Em6 guitar chord
An open string left ringing against a fretted grip. Because it costs no finger, it sounds a note the closed shape has none left for -- a tension on top, or a pedal root underneath. Either a familiar grip with open strings added, or a shape so sparse the open strings carry the chord. These belong to their key rather than to a shape, so D, A, G and E have many and Eb a handful.
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About Em6 — open string voicings
Em6 is E, G, B and C# — Em with a major sixth added on top.
It sounds bittersweet — minor underneath, major on top. The major sixth over a minor triad comes from the melodic minor, and it is the classic jazz minor tonic.
Em6 notes and formula
| E | G | B | C# |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ♭3 | 5 | 6 |
Minor tonic — an ending chord in a minor key.
Also written Emin6, E-6 or E minor 6. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Em6
An open string left ringing against a fretted grip. It costs no finger, so it can sound a note the closed shape has none left for: a tension on top, or a pedal root underneath.
These belong to their key rather than to a shape: they cannot be moved up the neck. D, A, G and E have many; E♭ has a handful.
Em6 has 6 of them, on strings 6-5-4-3-2-1, the middle four strings, strings 6-5-4-3-2 and strings 5-4-3-2-1, from the 2nd fret up to the 5th — every inversion the chord has: E in the bass and C# in the bass. The one to learn first is the E shape at the 2nd fret, which is the easiest grip here.
Start with xx2423 — no barre and down at the nut. 2 of the 10 shapes here sit in open position. 5 of the 10 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 2nd fret to the 14th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 022020 | open position | E, root position | E | barred |
| 022423 | open position | E, root position | G | barred |
| xx2423 | 2nd fret | E, root position | G | all fretted |
| x75657 | 5th fret | E, root position | B | all fretted |
| x7968x | 6th fret | E, root position | G | all fretted |
| x79x89 | 7th fret | E, root position | C# | all fretted |
| xx9989 | 8th fret | B, 2nd inversion | C# | barred |
| x-10-11-9-12-x | 9th fret | G, 1st inversion | B | all fretted |
| 12-x-11-12-12-12 | 11th fret | E, root position | E | barred |
| 12-14-14-12-14-12 | 12th fret | E, root position | E | barred |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 7 shell, 13 drop 2 and 9 drop 3 voicings, each on its own page.
Tensions. A shell of Em6, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the 9 (F#) and the 11 (A).
How to use Em6
How you get to it. The turn that lands on Em6 is F#m7♭5 to B7♭9: the ii and the V of E minor, which is where a minor tonic is usually arrived at rather than simply begun on.
In which keys. Every note of Em6 belongs to D major (the ii, the supertonic) and B minor (the iv, the subdominant).
What to play over Em6
Every note of Em6 is in E dorian, E melodic minor and E half-whole diminished.
Chords near Em6
Change one note of Em6 and you have Em (drop the sixth), Edim7 (the fifth becomes a flat fifth), Em69 (add the ninth), Em7 (the sixth becomes a flat seventh), EmMaj7 (the sixth becomes a major seventh) or E6 (the minor third becomes a major third).
Em6 is a minor chord — root, minor third, fifth. Minor chords on every root.
On Em6’s sound and use this page follows Mark Levine, The Jazz Piano Book (Sher Music, 1989). The shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.