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The G6 chord

A nostalgic colour chord, used in Cinnamon Girl and In My Life. The G6 (G - B - D - E) is a major sixth, which is why it sounds a sweeter, less obvious I chord. Writers pick it for nostalgia, big-band warmth, a country swing, and you can find it across jazz standards and old-time country. On guitar the chord sits comfortably under a barre at the second fret; on piano it stacks straight up under the right hand. The page below covers the voicings worth memorising, the theory, the progressions where the G6 earns its keep, and the records that lean on it.

Hear the G6 in the chord builder →

Scale degrees Note names

Voicings for G6

Common ways to grip the G6 on guitar and piano. Guitar diagrams read low E to high E left-to-right; an × means muted, an open circle above the nut means an open string. Filled dots are fretted notes.

Guitar , full chord shapes

CAGED-derived voicings for G6 across the neck. Pick the shape closest to where your hand already sits.

Guitar: E6 shape at fr.3

Notes: G - B - D - E (chord tones)

Guitar: A6 shape at fr.10

Notes: G - B - D - E (chord tones)

Guitar: C6 shape at fr.7

Notes: G - B - D - E (chord tones)

Guitar: G6 shape at fr.2

Notes: G - B - D - E (chord tones)

Guitar: top-4 voicing

Notes: G - B - D - E (chord tones)

Guitar: high top-4 voicing

Notes: G - B - D - E (chord tones)

Guitar , triad shapes

Three-note triad shapes on each string set, shown moving up the neck. Light textures for arpeggios, pop layering and chord-melody work.

Triad: top strings (G-B-e) · open

Notes: top-string triad, open

Triad: top strings (G-B-e) · fr.5

Notes: top-string triad, fr.5

Triad: top strings (G-B-e) · fr.9

Notes: top-string triad, fr.9

Triad: middle strings (D-G-B) · fr.2

Notes: middle-string triad, fr.2

Triad: middle strings (D-G-B) · fr.5

Notes: middle-string triad, fr.5

Triad: middle strings (D-G-B) · fr.9

Notes: middle-string triad, fr.9

Triad: bass strings (A-D-G) · fr.2

Notes: bass-side triad, fr.2

Triad: bass strings (A-D-G) · fr.5

Notes: bass-side triad, fr.5

Triad: bass strings (A-D-G) · fr.7

Notes: bass-side triad, fr.7

Piano voicings

Root position and inversions. The bass note matters: each inversion changes how the chord sits under a melody.

Piano: root position

Notes: G - B - D - E. Root G at the bottom. The classic stacked-thirds spelling of a major sixth.

Piano: first inversion

Notes: B - D - E - G. B at the bottom. Common in chord-melody, walking bass lines and gentler voicings.

Piano: second inversion

Notes: D - E - G - B. D at the bottom. A floating, suspended feel often used in hymns and ballads.

Piano: third inversion

Notes: E - G - B - D. E at the bottom. The seventh in the bass , a smooth jazz favourite.

The theory behind G6

Spell out the G6 and you get G - B - D - E. The intervals from the root are root, major third, perfect fifth, major sixth, which is the recipe for a major sixth. In a closely related major key the chord plays the role of passing chord; in a closely related major key it shows up as passing chord. Its preferred next move is stay home as a coloured I chord, which is what makes it useful in country swing and old jazz.

Progressions that use G6

Short progressions that put the G6 to work. Each one is shown in a different key so you can pick the one that suits your singer.

I→IV→V key of C major

G6 (as passing colour)

This chord appears as a borrowed or passing chord in many major-key progressions.

→ Build this in the chord builder

Songs that feature G6

Real records where this chord does structural work. No lyrics quoted, just the title and artist so you can pull up a copy and hear it in context.

In My Life by The Beatles. G6 colour within the verse harmony.
Norwegian Wood by The Beatles. G6 colour in the song's chord-melody style.
Cinnamon Girl by Neil Young. G6 as a colourful resolution.

Related chords

Chords a step away from the G6 in the songwriting circle, the natural neighbours when you want a substitution.

TriadG DomG7 Maj7Gmaj7 m7Gm7 NeighbourD NeighbourDm NeighbourD7 NeighbourC

Keys where G6 lives

The keys where this chord turns up diatonically. Open any key page for the full set of progressions that lean on it.

C major A minor

Related references

Other ways to put the G6 to work across the reference library.

Arpeggiooutline it with arpeggios

More songwriting tools

Got the chord but still wrestling with the lyric? Find the right rhyme in RhymeForge, or break a writer's block with the unexpected word-pair generator in CollisionLab. Need to map a full progression? The chord builder on the home page is where the G6 fits into context. All free, no signup.

About the chord builder

The Undercover Zest chord progression builder is a free interactive tool that maps every diatonic and borrowed chord in every key. Click a Roman numeral to hear it, drag chords into a progression, then audition voicings, inversions and tensions until the song clicks.

This page is a static reference for the G6. For interactive playback, voice-leading hints and substitution suggestions, open the chord builder above.