Guitar · sixth
D6 Chord on Guitar
D Major 6th is D, F#, A, B — the 1-3-5-6 pattern of a sixth chord. There are 2 ways to play it on guitar, ranked below from easiest to hardest.
There is no open D6 shape on guitar — every version sits up the neck. The one marked “A Shape Barre (5th fret)” below is the friendliest grip, so start there.
Start here — A Shape Barre (5th fret)
Sits at fret 5 — tighter and brighter than the low shapes, and high enough to keep out of the way of anyone playing the open version underneath.
Every way to play it — 2 shapes, easiest first
Same chord in all of them. What changes is how much your hand has to do and where on the neck it sits.
A Shape Barre (5th fret) Way 1 of 2
A Shape Barre (5th fret)
Easiest here· intermediate· the standard shape
Sits at fret 5 — tighter and brighter than the low shapes, and high enough to keep out of the way of anyone playing the open version underneath.
Movable Root-5 Shape (4th fret) Way 2 of 2
Movable Root-5 Shape (4th fret)
advanced
Fingered low on the neck with no barre — a useful middle step between the open shape and the movable ones.
What beginners get wrong
Moving in and out of it
The shape above: A Shape Barre (5th fret).
Listening: each shape above has its own play button, and each one plays the notes that shape actually produces — not a generic triad.
D6 on other instruments
Same notes, different hands. Every link below is a real page with diagrams and audio.
Chords next door
Same root, different colour — and all of them playable on guitar.
D6 on Guitar — questions people ask
What is the easiest way to play D6 on guitar?
“A Shape Barre (5th fret)” — which we rate intermediate — is the easiest D6 shape on guitar. Sits at fret 5 — tighter and brighter than the low shapes, and high enough to keep out of the way of anyone playing the open version underneath. There is no open D6 on guitar, so a barre is unavoidable; this is the least demanding one.
What notes are in the D Major 6th chord?
D Major 6th is D, F#, A, B — the 1-3-5-6 interval pattern of a sixth chord. Every voicing on this page uses those notes and nothing else; they just appear in a different order and octave.
How many ways can you play D6 on guitar?
This page has 2 D6 voicings for guitar, ranked from easiest to hardest: A Shape Barre (5th fret), Movable Root-5 Shape (4th fret). They all sound like D6; the differences are how hard they are to hold and how high they sit.
What can I play instead of D6?
The nearest stand-ins on guitar that keep the same root are Dsus4, Dsus2, D. They keep the root and the fifth and only change what sits in the middle, so most songs still work — but check the swap against the melody, because the note you removed may be the one the tune is singing.
Can I play D6 on other instruments?
Yes. D6 is the same set of notes everywhere; only the fingering changes. This site has diagrams and audio for it on piano, ukulele, bass, mandolin, banjo.
Learn the theory behind D6
The shape gets your fingers there. These explain why it sounds the way it does.