Am6 is a minor 6th chord, and on the guitar it is played from the notes A, C, E, F#. Its first guitar voicing is the movable voicing: low E string at fret 5 (ring finger); A string open; D string at fret 2 (index finger); G string at fret 5 (little finger); B string at fret 5 (little finger); high e string at fret 2 (middle finger). This page is a complete reference for it: notes and intervals, fingerings, mistakes to avoid, the keys it belongs to and a short practice routine.
What notes are in the Am6 chord?
The Am6 chord is a minor 6th chord, and its notes are fixed: A, C, E, F#. 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 A, so you can see the structure of Am6 at a glance. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes A, C, E, F# in Am6.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| A | Root |
| C | b3 |
| E | 5 |
| F# | 6 |
The root is A, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in Am6 are b3, 5, 6. Once you know the intervals, you can build Am6 from any root by counting the same semitone steps, which is how the chord works in every key. On the guitar, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
Am6 sounds dark, elegant and a little mysterious — the minor 6th chord is the sound of film noir and minor-key jazz. 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 Am6 noticeably. On the guitar, the movable voicing voicing is the place to hear it in Am6.
Comparing Am6 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, minor 6th against minor 7th: Am6 adds the 6th F#; the minor 7th adds the flattened 7th G instead. The 6th sounds more elegant and more tense. Practise the two chords back to back and listen to the one note that changes — that single note is the difference between the two chords. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes A, C, E, F# in Am6.
How to play Am6 on guitar
On the guitar, Am6 has 3 voicings in the data below, and each one uses the same notes — A, C, E, F# — in a different place on the neck. There are 3 voicings listed for Am6 on the guitar; learn the first, then add the others as you need them. Finger numbers below use 1 for the index finger, 2 for the middle finger, 3 for the ring finger and 4 for the little finger, and x means the string is not played.
The movable voicing is the voicing to learn if you want Am6 in around fret 2: low E string at fret 5 (ring finger); A string open; D string at fret 2 (index finger); G string at fret 5 (little finger); B string at fret 5 (little finger); high e string at fret 2 (middle finger). The stretch is the challenge: the fretted notes span from fret 2 to fret 5, so keep your thumb low behind the neck and let your fingers reach rather than squeezing the neck. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Am6 — A, C, E, F# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Another way to play Am6 is the barre chord, in around fret 2: low E string at fret 5 (ring finger); A string at fret 3 (middle finger); D string at fret 2 (index finger); G string at fret 2 (index finger); B string at fret 5 (little finger); high e string at fret 2 (index finger). It barres across strings 3 to 4 at fret 2 with the index finger. The barre is the hard part: the index finger must press every string from 3 to 4 evenly at fret 2, so roll it slightly onto its bony side and keep it close to the fret wire. If the barre buzzes, move it a fraction closer to the fret and press from the arm, not the thumb alone. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Am6 — A, C, E, F# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
For the movable voicing, Am6 sits in around fret 2: low E string at fret 5 (ring finger); A string open; D string at fret 4 (middle finger); G string at fret 5 (little finger); B string at fret 5 (little finger); high e string at fret 2 (index finger). The stretch is the challenge: the fretted notes span from fret 2 to fret 5, so keep your thumb low behind the neck and let your fingers reach rather than squeezing the neck. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Am6 — A, C, E, F# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Choosing between the voicings of Am6 is a musical decision, not a right-or-wrong one. The open or low-position voicing rings the most and suits strumming, while a barre or movable voicing lets you slide Am6 up the neck to any key without changing the shape. When you change chords, pick the voicing of Am6 that sits closest to the chord before it — shorter moves between shapes mean faster, cleaner changes. Practise the change into Am6 from the chord that comes before it in your song, not the chord on its own, because the move is the skill. On the guitar, the movable voicing voicing is the place to hear it in Am6.
A short practice routine for Am6 on the guitar: play the first voicing four times slowly, checking each note, then change to it from the chord a fourth above A and back, four times, at a slow tempo. Then play the second voicing the same way. If a note buzzes, stop and fix the finger placement rather than playing through the buzz — clean notes at a slow tempo become clean notes at full tempo, while buzzes practised fast become habits. Use the Guitar Chord Finder to see the diagram for Am6 while you practise, and the Chord Finder to compare it with the same chord on other instruments.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make Am6 sound wrong on the guitar, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Clashing the 6th with the 5th. F# sits a whole step above the 5th E, so low voicings can sound muddy. Keep the 6th in a higher octave than the 5th. On the guitar, the movable voicing voicing is the place to hear it in Am6.
Using it as a passing chord only. Am6 works as a tonic too. Try ending a minor phrase on it and listen to how it colours the resolution. On the guitar, the movable voicing of Am6 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Barre collapsing on the high strings. In a barre voicing of Am6, the high strings are the ones that buzz first, because the index finger presses hardest near the thumb. If the top notes of Am6 sound dead, roll the barring finger slightly toward the fret and press from the arm, not from squeezing the neck. On the guitar, the movable voicing voicing is the place to hear it in Am6.
Playing the wrong 6th. The added note is F#, a major 6th above the root. Play the flattened 6th and you have a different, much darker sound. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes A, C, E, F# in Am6.
Where Am6 is used
Am6 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 F major, the key of G major. a minor tonic in jazz, where the 6th replaces the 7th as the added note. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward D major, the key a perfect fourth above A, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where Am6 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the guitar, the movable voicing voicing is the place to hear it in Am6.
Because Am6 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 A 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 Am6 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the guitar, the movable voicing voicing is the place to hear it in Am6.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in Am6 on piano, Am6 on ukulele, Am6 on bass, and the scales that fit over it are the A major scale and the A minor pentatonic scale. Learning Am6 on the guitar and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — A, C, E, F# — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising Am6
A short worked example makes Am6 concrete. Play the four-chord progression D – A – Bm – G in D major, the key Am6 most often resolves toward: D – A – Bm – G. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how Am6 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 Am6 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes A, C, E, F# in Am6.
For a second exercise, play Am6 and then the chord a fourth above A, 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 Am6 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing Am6 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: A, C, E, F#. 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 guitar, the movable voicing voicing is the place to hear it in Am6.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Am6 on the guitar?
The first voicing is the movable voicing: frets 5–0–2–5–5–2, fingers 3–0–1–4–4–2, on the guitar. That voicing uses the notes A, C, E, F#, and it is the one to learn first. The page above lists more voicings for Am6, so you can choose the shape nearest the chords around it.
Is Am6 hard to play on the guitar?
It depends on the voicing. The first voicing of Am6 on the guitar is the easiest starting point, and the movable voicings further up the neck are harder because they need a barre or a wider stretch. Practise the first voicing cleanly at a slow tempo before you try the others, and the harder shapes will come more easily.
What is the easiest voicing of Am6 on the guitar?
The movable voicing is the easiest voicing listed for Am6 on the guitar: frets 5–0–2–5–5–2, fingers 3–0–1–4–4–2. Learn that shape first, get every note ringing cleanly, and only then move on to the alternative voicings further up the neck.
What notes are in Am6?
Am6 contains A, C, E, F#: the root A, the minor 3rd C, the perfect 5th E and the added 6th F#. The 6th is the note that gives it its elegant, noir colour. On the guitar, the first voicing above shows where that note sits.
Is Am6 major or minor?
Minor. Its 3rd is C, a minor 3rd above A. The added 6th F# does not change that — it only adds colour to the minor triad. On the guitar, the first voicing above shows where that note sits.