If you want to play Em6 on the bass, start with its notes: E, G, B, C#. On bass it is outlined with the arpeggio E, B, E, G — root, 5th, root, 3rd. This is a minor 6th chord, and the sections below take you from the notes table to real fingerings, common mistakes and the musical contexts where Em6 sounds right.
What notes are in the Em6 chord?
The Em6 chord is a minor 6th chord, and its notes are fixed: E, G, B, C#. Every voicing on every instrument uses these same notes, in some order and in some octave — change one of them and you are playing a different chord. The table below lists each note with its interval from the root E, so you can see the structure of Em6 at a glance. On the bass, Em6 is the arpeggio E, B, E, G — root, 5th, root, 3rd — and that order is the shape to learn.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| E | Root |
| G | b3 |
| B | 5 |
| C# | 6 |
The root is E, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in Em6 are b3, 5, 6. Those intervals are the fingerprint of the minor 6th quality — any chord with the same interval pattern, on any root, is the same kind of chord. On the bass, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
Em6 sounds moody and sophisticated, with the added 6th ({sixth}) giving the minor triad a bittersweet lift. The colour is strongest when all the notes ring clearly. A muted chord tone, especially the 3rd or the 7th where the chord has one, flattens the character of Em6 noticeably. On the bass, play E, B, E, G and hear how the arpeggio spells out Em6 without ever playing it as a block.
Comparing Em6 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, minor 6th against minor 7th: Em6 adds the 6th C#; the minor 7th adds the flattened 7th D instead. The 6th sounds more elegant and more tense. Play both chords slowly, one after the other, and notice which note moves. Naming that note out loud while you play is the fastest way to learn the difference. On the bass, Em6 is the arpeggio E, B, E, G — root, 5th, root, 3rd — and that order is the shape to learn.
How to play Em6 on bass
On the bass, Em6 is not played as a full chord shape the way it is on guitar or piano. Instead you outline it with an arpeggio: the notes E, B, E, G, which are the chord tones of Em6 in the order root, 5th, root, 3rd. That pattern is the working shape for this chord on bass, and it tells the listener exactly which chord is sounding, even though you never play all the notes at once.
Practise the arpeggio of Em6 by playing E on beat one, B on beat two, E on beat three and G on beat four, one note per beat, letting each note ring for its full value. Then play it backwards — G, E, B, E — so your fingers learn the shape in both directions. The root E is the anchor: it is the note the rest of the band listens for, so land on it cleanly and on time, and let the 5th B and the 3rd G colour the bar without pulling attention away from the root.
Once the straight arpeggio of Em6 is comfortable, try playing just the root E and the 5th B for a whole bar, then add the 3rd G on the last beat as a passing colour. That root-and-5th skeleton is how most bass lines outline Em6 in a real song, and the full arpeggio is the version you use when the arrangement has space for it. Check the notes with the Bass Chord Finder and the Chord Finder, and practise the arpeggio against a slow metronome so the notes land exactly on the beat.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make Em6 sound wrong on the bass, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Playing the arpeggio as a chord. Strumming all the notes of Em6 at once on bass sounds muddy and hides the root. Play the arpeggio one note at a time, let each note ring, and keep the root E as the note the listener hears first. On the bass, play E, B, E, G and hear how the arpeggio spells out Em6 without ever playing it as a block.
Playing the wrong 6th. The added note is C#, a major 6th above the root. Play the flattened 6th and you have a different, much darker sound. On the bass, play E, B, E, G and hear how the arpeggio spells out Em6 without ever playing it as a block.
Forgetting the minor 3rd. The 3rd must stay minor (G). If it comes out as G# the chord becomes a major 6th, a completely different colour. On the bass, the arpeggio E, B, E, G outlines Em6 one note at a time.
Clashing the 6th with the 5th. C# sits a whole step above the 5th B, so low voicings can sound muddy. Keep the 6th in a higher octave than the 5th. On the bass, Em6 is the arpeggio E, B, E, G — root, 5th, root, 3rd — and that order is the shape to learn.
Where Em6 is used
Em6 is not a diatonic triad in any major or minor key, because it is an extended or altered chord, but its base triad belongs to the key of C major, the key of D major, the key of G major. the i chord in minor keys, and the iv chord in major keys, adding colour to minor progressions. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward A major, the key a perfect fourth above E, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where Em6 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the bass, play E, B, E, G and hear how the arpeggio spells out Em6 without ever playing it as a block.
Because Em6 is an extended or altered chord, it appears in progressions as a colour or a dominant rather than as a diatonic staple. Try it in place of the plain E triad in a progression you already know, and listen to how the extra notes change the feel — that substitution is the usual way extended chords enter real music. The Chord Progression Builder lets you try Em6 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the bass, Em6 is the arpeggio E, B, E, G — root, 5th, root, 3rd — and that order is the shape to learn.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in Em6 on guitar, Em6 on piano, Em6 on ukulele, and the scales that fit over it are the E major scale and the E minor pentatonic scale. Learning Em6 on the bass and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — E, G, B, C# — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising Em6
A short worked example makes Em6 concrete. Play the four-chord progression A – E – F#m – D in A major, the key Em6 most often resolves toward: A – E – F#m – D. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how Em6 sounds in that sequence — whether it feels like home, like a lift, or like a chord on its way somewhere else. Then play the same four chords in a different order, starting on Em6 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the bass, play E, B, E, G and hear how the arpeggio spells out Em6 without ever playing it as a block.
For a second exercise, play Em6 and then the chord a fourth above E, back and forth, four times each. That move — a chord and the chord a fourth above it — is the most common resolution in Western music, and it is the move Em6 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing Em6 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: E, G, B, C#. Naming the notes while you play them is what turns a shape into knowledge you can use in any key. Test yourself with the Practice Chord Quiz and keep time with the Metronome as the tempo rises. On the bass, play E, B, E, G and hear how the arpeggio spells out Em6 without ever playing it as a block.
Frequently asked questions
What notes are in Em6?
Em6 contains E, G, B, C#: the root E, the minor 3rd G, the perfect 5th B and the added 6th C#. The 6th is the note that gives it its elegant, noir colour. On the bass, the arpeggio above shows where that note sits.
Is Em6 major or minor?
Minor. Its 3rd is G, a minor 3rd above E. The added 6th C# does not change that — it only adds colour to the minor triad. On the bass, the arpeggio above shows where that note sits.
Where is Em6 used?
Em6 is a minor tonic in jazz and a colour chord in minor-key songs. It appears as the i chord in minor keys and the iv chord in major keys, often in slow, exposed passages. On the bass, the arpeggio above shows where that note sits.
How do you play Em6 on the bass?
Outline it with the arpeggio E, B, E, G: root, 5th, root, 3rd. Play one note per beat, with the root E on beat one, and let each note ring. That arpeggio tells the listener exactly which chord is sounding, even though you never play all the notes of Em6 at once.
What notes are in the Em6 bass arpeggio?
The arpeggio is E, B, E, G. It starts on the root E, moves to the 5th B, returns to the root E and finishes on the 3rd G. Those four notes are the chord tones of Em6, and playing them in that order is the standard way to outline the chord on bass.