Sixth Chords
The sixth chord is constructed from the major scale using the first (1), third (3), fifth (5), and sixth (6) notes of the scale. The symbol for a sixth chord is a 6, placed after the letter name of the chord. There are three inversions for each sixth chord which you should practice and become familiar with.
C Sixth - Root Position
F Sixth - Root Position
G Sixth - Root Position
The sixth chord is a major chord with the sixth note added. The chord shapes given in the diagrams are in root position. For a full listing of sixth chords, see the chord chart section.
The following exercise is a turnaround in the key of C, and uses the three new sixth chords as just introduced. Notice that the left hand part for the sixth chords uses the first and fifth notes from the chord. This gives a fuller sound to the accompaniment than just using the root note.
The following exercise is a 12 Bar Blues in C. Notice that no 7th chords are used in this 12 bar, but the progression still uses the I, IV and V chords as a basis.
The D6 Chord
D Sixth - Root Position
The following exercise is a 12 Bar Blues in G which uses the D6 chord introduced above. The bass part outlines the chord shape with the use of the root note along with intervals of a 5th, 6th and 7th corresponding to the chord played with the right hand.
There are many different bass lines that can be used when playing a 12 Bar Blues. E.g., try playing the previous exercise using the following walking bass line as the left hand part. Apply the appropriate bass line to each chord section.
