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The Em6 chord (E minor 6) on guitar

Em6 is the gentlest way into jazz harmony a guitarist will ever get. Take the first chord most people learn, E minor, add one finger on the B string, and you have it. That finger plays C#, the major sixth, and it changes the mood of the chord at once: still minor, but warmer and a little bittersweet, the sound of bossa nova and old film scores. No barre, no stretch, just one more note to hear.

Em6 chord: notes and shapes at a glance

  • Name: E minor sixth
  • Symbol: Em6
  • Notes: E, G, B, C#

Each shape below is written from the thickest string to the thinnest: a number is the fret, 0 an open string, x a string you do not play. New to this? See how to read chord diagrams.

Shape Frets, low E to high E Notes, low to high What it is for
Em6, open 022020 E B E G C# E E minor with one finger added on the B string. All six strings, the easiest minor sixth on the guitar.
Em6, four strings xx2423 E B C# G No open strings: E, B, C# and G on the top four. Softer, and a good voicing for fingerpicking.
Em6, seventh fret x79989 E B E G C# The Am6 shape moved up seven frets, root on the A string. Movable to any minor sixth.
Em6, open 0 2 2 0 2 0 · 2 3 · 4 · fingers
Em6, four strings x x 2 4 2 3 · · 1 3 1 2 fingers
Em6, seventh fret x 7 9 9 8 9 · 1 3 3 2 4 fingers

Read each diagram from the thickest string on the left to the thinnest on the right. A cross means the string is not played, a circle means it rings open.

Em6 on the neck: every E, G, B, C#

Standard tuning, frets 0 to 12. The highlighted notes are the notes of Em6: any shape you build from them, anywhere on the neck, is still Em6.

Fretboard notes
Swipe the fretboard sideways to see every fret.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 - E
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
2 - B
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
3 - G
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
4 - D
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
5 - A
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
6 - E
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E

From Em to Em6 in one finger

  1. Play E minor: second finger on the A string at fret 2, third finger on the D string at fret 2.
  2. Add the fourth finger on the B string at fret 2.
  3. Strum all six strings. The G string stays open between the third and fourth fingers: keep both fingers arched so it rings.

Now play Em, let it ring, then add the finger and play again. The difference is one note, B becomes C# on the second string, and you hear it immediately. That comparison is the best ear training this chord offers.

If the fourth finger is weak, finger E minor with the first and second fingers instead, on the A and D strings, and give the B string to the third finger. Same chord, a more comfortable hand for some players.

Em, Em7, Em6: what the B string changes

The three chords share the low E, the B on the A string and the E on the D string. Only the second string differs, and with it the color.

Chord Shape Notes Sound
Em 022000 E, G, B Plain minor
Em7 022030 E, G, B, D Relaxed, open
Em6 022020 E, G, B, C# Bittersweet, jazzy

Watch the spelling: Em6 has C#, not C. If a melody leans hard on C natural, Em6 will clash with it. The E minor 7 chord page covers the other neighbor in detail.

Em6 up the neck

x79989 is the movable shape: first finger on the A string at fret 7 (the root), third finger flat across the D and G strings at fret 9, second finger on the B string at fret 8, fourth finger on the high E at fret 9. Leave the low E silent. It is the Am6 shape (x02212) slid up seven frets, so moving it changes the root: two frets lower it is Dm6, four frets lower Cm6. The D minor 6 and C minor 6 pages show their own open versions.

xx2423 sits back at the nut with no open strings: first finger barring the D, G and B strings at fret 2, third finger on the G string at fret 4, second finger on the high E at fret 3. Four notes, one of each.

Higher still, at the twelfth fret, the open shape repeats an octave up (12 14 14 12 14 12), and jazz players use a compact four note grip, 12 x 11 12 12 x: E, C#, G, B. Both are E minor 6, just higher.

Where Em6 fits

Em6 is a minor chord you can rest on, so it often ends a phrase in E minor, especially in bossa nova and jazz, where the plain minor triad sounds too bare. The C# also belongs to the key of D major, so in that key Em6 works as a richer version of the ii chord; it shares four notes with A9, and it pulls toward D in much the same way.

Progression Shapes What it does
Em, Em6 022000, 022020 One finger on, one finger off: a minor vamp that breathes.
B7, Em6 x21202, 022020 V to i in E minor, landing on the sixth instead of the bare triad.
F#m7b5, B7, Em6 2x221x, x21202, 022020 The minor ii V i, the most common jazz cadence in a minor key.
Em6, D 022020, xx0232 Em6 standing in for A9: a soft approach to D.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play Em6 on guitar?
Play 022020: the usual E minor (second finger on the A string at fret 2, third finger on the D string at fret 2), plus the fourth finger on the B string at fret 2. Strum all six strings. The note under the fourth finger, C#, is what turns Em into Em6.
What notes are in an E minor 6 chord?
Four: E, G, B and C#. E, G and B are E minor; C# is the major sixth. The formula is 1, b3, 5, 6.
Does Em6 have C or C#?
C#. The 6 in a chord symbol means the major sixth, which above E is C#. A chord with C natural over E minor is written Em(b6) or heard as Cmaj7 over E, and it has a much darker sound.
What is the difference between Em6 and Em7?
The added note. Em7 adds D, the minor seventh, and sounds relaxed. Em6 adds C#, the major sixth, and sounds bittersweet, a little jazzy. In the open shapes, both add a note on the B string: fret 3 (D) for Em7, fret 2 (C#) for Em6.
Are Em6 and C#m7b5 the same chord?
Same notes, different job. Both contain E, G, B and C#. With E in the bass the ear hears a minor chord with a sixth on top, at rest. With C# in the bass it hears C# half diminished, a chord that wants to move, usually to F#7 and then B minor. The bass note decides.
Yohann Abbou, guitar teacher and founder of Guitar Social Club

Who made this

Guitar Social Club is the work of Yohann Abbou, a guitar teacher in Paris who teaches adults. Every shape on this page is written string by string and checked against standard tuning, and the diagrams are drawn from those same fret numbers. The rest of our free guitar tools, including the chord finder, work the same way.

More about Yohann on his page, and about why Guitar Social Club exists.