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Guitar · minor sixth

Em6 Chord on Guitar

Eb Minor 6th is Eb, Gb, Bb, C — the 1-b3-5-6 pattern of a minor sixth chord. Here is the shape, the audio, and what usually goes wrong.

There is no open Ebm6 on guitar. The one shape below sits up the neck and is rated advanced.


Start hereMovable Root-5 Shape (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.

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Movable Root-5 Shape (5th fret)
Press play to hear Ebm6 the way this shape actually sounds.

What beginners get wrong

Moving in and out of it

The shape above: Movable Root-5 Shape (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.

Ebm6 on other instruments

Same notes, different hands. Every link below is a real page with diagrams and audio.

Piano

Em6 on piano

3 voicings · easiest is intermediate

Ukulele

Em6 on ukulele

2 voicings · easiest is intermediate

Bass

Em6 on bass

1 voicing · easiest is advanced

Mandolin

Em6 on mandolin

1 voicing · easiest is intermediate

Banjo

Em6 on banjo

1 voicing · easiest is advanced

Or see Eb Minor 6th on every instrument at once.

Chords next door

Same root, different colour — and all of them playable on guitar.

E

Eb Major

Em

Eb Minor

Edim

Eb Diminished

Eaug

Eb Augmented

Esus2

Eb Suspended 2nd

Esus4

Eb Suspended 4th

Ebm6 on Guitar — questions people ask

What is the easiest way to play Ebm6 on guitar?

“Movable Root-5 Shape (5th fret)” — which we rate advanced — is the easiest Ebm6 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 Ebm6 on guitar, so a barre is unavoidable; this is the least demanding one.

What notes are in the Eb Minor 6th chord?

Eb Minor 6th is Eb, Gb, Bb, C — the 1-b3-5-6 interval pattern of a minor sixth chord. Every voicing on this page uses those notes and nothing else; they just appear in a different order and octave.

What can I play instead of Ebm6?

The nearest stand-ins on guitar that keep the same root are Ebsus4, Ebsus2, Eb. 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 Ebm6 on other instruments?

Yes. Ebm6 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 Ebm6

The shape gets your fingers there. These explain why it sounds the way it does.

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Major and Minor Scales — Built from Intervals, Felt in Songs

The flat third under all of this, and the scale it comes from.

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Written and checked by Jake Dahn. Every voicing on this page is re-derived from the instrument’s tuning before it is published, so the diagram and the audio always agree. No ads, no sign-up, no paywall.