On the piano, the Em6 chord is the minor 6th chord built from E, G, B, C#. On piano it is played from the keys E, G, B, C#, root position first, then in inversions. Keep this page open while you practise: it lists the notes, every practical voicing, the mistakes that make it sound wrong and the progressions where it does its best work.
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 piano, the root-position keys E, G, B, C# show Em6 most clearly.
| 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 piano, 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. Listen for that character when you play it — if Em6 does not sound that way, one of the notes is probably wrong, and the table above is the place to check. On the piano, play the keys E, G, B, C# slowly and listen for each note of Em6 in turn.
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 piano, the root-position keys E, G, B, C# show Em6 most clearly.
How to play Em6 on piano
On the piano, Em6 is played from the keys E, G, B, C#. In root position the lowest note is E, the root, with the other notes stacked above it in the order E, G, B, C#. Play it with the right hand first, then with the left hand an octave lower, so both hands know the shape of Em6 before you try it in a progression.
First inversion of Em6 puts G in the bass, with the notes in the order G, B, C#, E. The chord is still Em6 — the notes have not changed, only their order — but the bass note changes how it connects to the chord before and after it. Use this inversion when the bass line wants to step to G rather than jump to E, and practise moving from root position to this inversion without lifting your hand off the keys more than you must.
Second inversion of Em6 puts B in the bass, with the notes in the order B, C#, E, G. The chord is still Em6 — the notes have not changed, only their order — but the bass note changes how it connects to the chord before and after it. Use this inversion when the bass line wants to step to B rather than jump to E, and practise moving from root position to this inversion without lifting your hand off the keys more than you must.
Third inversion of Em6 puts C# in the bass, with the notes in the order C#, E, G, B. The chord is still Em6 — the notes have not changed, only their order — but the bass note changes how it connects to the chord before and after it. Use this inversion when the bass line wants to step to C# rather than jump to E, and practise moving from root position to this inversion without lifting your hand off the keys more than you must.
For fingering, a good starting point for Em6 in root position in the right hand is thumb on E, then one finger per note in order, with the little finger on the top note C#. For the left hand, mirror it: little finger on the low E and thumb on the top note. When a note is a black key — C# — let your longer fingers take it, since they reach the black keys more easily. Practise Em6 in root position and first inversion, hands separately, then together, at a slow tempo, and use the Piano Chord Finder to check the voicing on the keyboard.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make Em6 sound wrong on the piano, 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. 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 piano, the root-position keys E, G, B, C# show Em6 most clearly.
Using it as a passing chord only. Em6 works as a tonic too. Try ending a minor phrase on it and listen to how it colours the resolution. On the piano, Em6 is the keys E, G, B, C#, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
Playing every inversion with the same hand shape. Each inversion of Em6 needs its own hand shape, because the notes sit under different fingers. If you force the root-position fingering onto an inversion, the hand cramps and notes get missed. Learn the fingering for each inversion of Em6 separately, hands apart, before you join them. On the piano, Em6 is the keys E, G, B, C#, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
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 piano, the root-position keys E, G, B, C# show Em6 most clearly.
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 piano, play the keys E, G, B, C# slowly and listen for each note of Em6 in turn.
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 piano, play the keys E, G, B, C# slowly and listen for each note of Em6 in turn.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in Em6 on guitar, Em6 on ukulele, Em6 on bass, and the scales that fit over it are the E major scale and the E minor pentatonic scale. Learning Em6 on the piano 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 piano, the root-position keys E, G, B, C# show Em6 most clearly.
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 piano, play the keys E, G, B, C# slowly and listen for each note of Em6 in turn.
Frequently asked questions
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 piano, check the root-position keys above for that note.
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 piano, check the root-position keys above for that note.
How do you play Em6 on the piano?
In root position, play the keys E, G, B, C#, with E as the lowest note. That is the basic shape of Em6 on the piano. The inversions above put a different note in the bass, and the Chord Inverter shows every inversion of Em6 on the keyboard.
What is the first inversion of Em6?
The first inversion of Em6 puts G in the bass, with the notes in the order G, B, C#, E. The chord is still Em6 — only the bass note has changed — and it is the inversion to use when the bass line steps to G.
Which fingers do you use for Em6 on piano?
In the right hand, start with the thumb on E and one finger per note in order, ending with the little finger on C#. In the left hand, mirror it with the little finger on the low E. Longer fingers take the black keys, so check which notes of Em6 are black keys before you settle on a fingering.