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The G6/B chord on guitar, G6 with B in the bass

G6/B may be the easiest chord on this site to play: one finger, four open strings. It holds the same notes as G6, G, B, D and E, but the lowest note is B, the third of the chord, instead of G. That small change makes it lighter and gives the bass line somewhere to go.

G6/B chord: notes and shapes at a glance

  • Name: G major sixth over B
  • Symbol: G6/B
  • Notes: G, B, D, E
  • Bass note: B, the lowest note you play

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
G6/B, one finger x20000 B D G B E One finger on the A string at fret 2, five strings ringing. B is the lowest note.
G6/B, with D on top x20030 B D G D E Adds D on the B string at fret 3. Same chord, a slightly darker top.
G6/B, with E doubled x22030 B E G D E E on the D string as well. The sixth comes forward, and the chord leans toward Em7.
G6/B, one finger x 2 0 0 0 0 · 2 · · · · fingers
G6/B, with D on top x 2 0 0 3 0 · 2 · · 3 · fingers
G6/B, with E doubled x 2 2 0 3 0 · 1 2 · 3 · 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.

G6/B on the neck: every G, B, D, E

Standard tuning, frets 0 to 12. The highlighted notes are the notes of G6/B: any shape you build from them, anywhere on the neck, is still G6/B.

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 G6/B

  1. Put the second finger on the A string at fret 2. That note is B, the bass.
  2. Leave the D, G, B and high E strings open. They give D, G, B and E.
  3. Start the strum on the A string. The low E must stay silent: E in the bass would turn the chord into an Em7.
The easiest way to keep the low E quiet is to let the tip of the second finger touch it lightly while it frets the A string. Then you can strum freely without aiming.

G6 or G6/B: which one does the chart want?

Symbol Bass Shape Sound
G6 G, the root 320000 Grounded, full
G6/B B, the third x20000 Lighter, floating

The top four strings are identical in both shapes. To go from G6 to G6/B, take the third finger off the low E and stop strumming that string. The second finger does not move.

Why put B in the bass

An inversion is mostly about the bass line. With B under the chord, G6/B sits one step from C above it and one step from A below it, so the bass can walk instead of jumping.

Progression Shapes Bass line
G, G6/B, C 320003, x20000, x32010 G, B, C
C, G6/B, Am x32010, x20000, x02210 C, B, A: a descending line
G6/B, Em7 x20000, 022030 B down to E, the top strings almost still

The same walking idea is behind D/F#, and Gmaj7/B is the twin of this chord with F# on top instead of E.

A G6/B is also an Em7/B

G6 and Em7 are built from the same four notes. Once B is in the bass, nothing in the chord says G more than E. The name comes from the song: after a G, in the key of G, write G6/B; inside an E minor passage, Em7/B. The third shape above, x22030, doubles the E and already sounds more like the minor reading.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play G6/B on guitar?
Put one finger on the A string at fret 2 and strum from the A string down: x20000. Do not play the low E. The fretted note is B, the bass of the chord; the four open strings give D, G, B and E.
What is the difference between G6 and G6/B?
Only the bass. Both contain G, B, D and E. G6 (320000) has G as its lowest note; G6/B (x20000) has B, the third. If your chart just says G6, play the version with the low G.
What does the slash mean in G6/B?
The letter after the slash is the bass note. G6/B means: play a G6 chord, and make B the lowest note you sound. It is an inversion, not a different chord.
Is G6/B the same as Em7/B?
The notes are identical, since G6 and Em7 share G, B, D and E. Which name is right depends on the song around it: in the key of G, after G, it is usually written G6/B; in a passage built on E minor, Em7/B. Your hand does exactly the same thing.
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.