Free Jazz Guitar Lessons with Chris Standring

The Minor Sixth Chord Explained

Minor 6th chords have quite a dark quality to them. The minor 6 chord is essentially a minor triad with a 6th degree of its scale added to it. So in the case of C minor the triad would be C Eb G and an added sixth would be A. (It is the same notes as Am7(b5) or A half diminished but inverted). The simplest way to look at the minor 6th chord on the fretboard is to visualize a major 6th chord and then make the chord minor by flattening the 3rd, like this:

C major6 (6th string root)





Cminor6 (6th string root)





All you are doing is simply removing your second finger. Now, this is not the best voicing for the minor 6th chord (and you might also confuse it with F7). So here are two better movable voicings of the minor 6th chord:

Cm6 (6th string root)




Cm6 (5th string root)


Back to lessons index


The Long Awaited Play What You Hear Volume Two Is Now Here!

It has been many years since the first edition of Play What You Hear (originally released in 2000). Now volume two is here with new ideas and concepts, complete with audio, video, traditional notation and TAB throughout. High resolution pdf available for printing the entire program. For intermediate and advanced players.

  • Part One: Melody

    Focuses on single note soloing. Learn how to effortlessly solo through complex chord changes.

  • Part Two: Harmony

    Focuses on chord melody. Learn new harmonic devices and understand chords in a whole new way.

  • Performances

    Study Chris Standring's six recorded solos, transcribed with audio and high def video.