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The E6 chord (E major sixth) on guitar

E6 is E major with C# added. It sounds softer than plain E, calmer than Emaj7, and nothing like the tension of E7. That is why it turns up at the end of songs, in swing and rockabilly, and in bossa nova: it is a major chord that feels finished but not bare. On the guitar, the open shape is the E chord you know plus one finger.

E6 chord: notes and shapes at a glance

  • Name: E major sixth
  • Symbol: E6
  • 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
E6, open 022120 E B E G# C# E E major with the fourth finger adding C# on the B string. All six strings ring.
E6, top four strings xx2424 E B C# G# Compact, no open strings, easy to stop short. Root on the fourth string.
E6, seventh fret x79999 E B E G# C# The open A6 shape (x02222) moved up seven frets. Five strings, full and bright.
E6, jazz voicing 12 x 11 13 12 x E C# G# B Root on the low E, fifth string muted, C#, G# and B above. The voicing for swing and bossa.
E6, open 0 2 2 1 2 0 · 2 3 1 4 · fingers
E6, top four strings x x 2 4 2 4 · · 1 3 1 4 fingers
E6, seventh fret x 7 9 9 9 9 · 1 3 3 3 3 fingers
E6, jazz voicing 12 x 11 13 12 x

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.

E6 on the neck: every E, G#, B, C#

Standard tuning, frets 0 to 12. The highlighted notes are the notes of E6: any shape you build from them, anywhere on the neck, is still E6.

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

How to play E6, from E

  1. Play E major, 022100: second finger on the fifth string at fret 2, third finger on the fourth string at fret 2, first finger on the third string at fret 1.
  2. Add the fourth finger on the second string (B) at fret 2. The open B becomes C#, the sixth.
  3. Strum all six strings. Low to high you should hear E, B, E, G#, C#, E.
  4. Go back and forth between E and E6 with only the fourth finger moving. Listen to the C# arrive: if you cannot hear it, the fourth finger is too flat or too far from the fret.
A brighter version adds G# on top: 022124, fourth finger on the high E at fret 4. The catch is five fretted notes for four fingers: lay the second finger flat across the A and D strings at fret 2, then use the third finger for C# and the fourth for the high G#. Try it once the basic shape is easy.

E, E6, E7, Emaj7: what the added note does

Chord Notes What it does
E E, G#, B Plain major
E6 E, G#, B, C# Major, softened. Settled, can end a song.
E7 E, G#, B, D Dominant. Tense, pulls toward A.
Emaj7 E, G#, B, D# Major, dreamy, slightly suspended.

E6 and C#m7: same notes, different bass

E6 is E, G#, B, C#. C#m7 is C#, E, G#, B. Same four notes. What you hear depends on the lowest one.

Chord Shape Lowest note
E6 12 x 11 13 12 x E: you hear a major chord
C#m7 x46454 C#: you hear a minor chord

This is useful in practice. When a bass player holds E, you can play a C#m7 shape on top and the band sounds E6. When you see E6 in a chart and the open shape does not fit the style, any C#m7 voicing over an E bass will do the job.

Progressions that end on E6

Progression Shapes What to listen for
E, E6 022100, 022120 One finger, one note: the C# softening the chord.
A, B7, E6 x02220, x21202, 022120 IV, V7, I in E, with a gentler landing than plain E.
F#m7, B7, E6 242222, x21202, 022120 The ii V I of E major, the classic swing ending.

For the closed shapes, x79999 is the open A6 shape, x02222, moved up seven frets: first finger on the fifth string at fret 7, third finger flat across the top four strings at fret 9. The barre chords page explains how that shape moves to every root.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play E6 on guitar?
Play 022120: the usual E major (second and third fingers on the A and D strings at fret 2, first finger on the G string at fret 1) plus the fourth finger on the B string at fret 2. Strum all six strings.
What notes are in E6?
Four: E, G#, B and C#. The E major triad plus C#, the major sixth. There is no seventh in the chord.
Are E6 and C#m7 the same chord?
They share the same four notes: C#m7 is C#, E, G#, B. The bass decides what you hear. With E at the bottom, the ear hears E6, a major chord; with C# at the bottom, it hears C#m7, a minor one.
What is the difference between E6 and E7?
E6 adds C#, E7 adds D. That half step changes the job: E7 is a dominant chord that wants to move to A, while E6 is a settled major chord that can end a song.
Is E6 the same as Eadd6?
Yes. Eadd6 is a redundant way of writing E6. Unlike the ninth, where E9 and Eadd9 are different chords, a 6 never implies a seventh, so charts simply write E6.
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.