Am6 Piano Chord

Am6 is the A minor sixth chord. It has four notes: A, C, E and F sharp. It is a plain A minor chord with an F sharp added on top, and that one black key is what makes it sound restless rather than sad.

1A2C3E5F♯C3C4

A at the bottom, then C, E and F♯. Right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1. F♯ is the only black key.

How to play Am6 on piano, step by step

  1. Start on the A below middle C. That is the lowest note of the chord.
  2. Thumb (1): A
  3. Index finger (2): C
  4. Middle finger (3): E
  5. Little finger (5): F♯
  6. Press them together with the right hand. The left hand plays the same notes with fingers 5, 3, 2, 1 an octave lower, or just A on its own as a bass note.

Play Am, then Am6, then Am again: keep the first three fingers still and add the little finger on F sharp. Hearing that one note change the mood is the whole point of the chord.

Inversions of Am6

The same 4 notes with a different one at the bottom. All of them are Am6; which you play depends on what the hand is coming from. Tap any card to hear it.

First inversionC E F♯ A
Am6 piano chord diagram, first inversion, C E F♯ A
Lighter, with the minor colour leading. The F♯ now sits in the middle of the hand, which softens its bite without removing it.
Second inversionE F♯ A C
Am6 piano chord diagram, second inversion, E F♯ A C
Open and unresolved, with E and F♯ a whole step apart at the bottom of the hand. It sounds like a chord partway through a move.
Third inversionF♯ A C E
Am6 piano chord diagram, third inversion, F♯ A C E
With F♯ underneath, these four notes are exactly F#m7b5, and the ear hears half diminished. Useful, but expect the chord to read as something else.

If it sounds wrong

The chord sounds soft instead of restless
The top note is F sharp, the black key, not G. G would make it Am7, which is a different and much calmer chord.
The little finger slides off the black key
F sharp is narrower and sits further in than the white keys. Move the whole hand slightly into the keyboard so the finger lands on the flat of the key, not the edge.
The middle of the chord is uneven
The index and middle finger carry C and E. Drop the hand as one shape rather than pressing four fingers one at a time.

What makes it an Am6

A · C · E · F♯ 1 ♭3 5 6

Am6 is an A minor triad, A, C and E, with an F sharp added: the major sixth, nine half steps above the root. The sixth stays major even though the chord is minor, and that mix of a flat third with a natural sixth is what makes the chord sound unsettled rather than simply sad.

It is the iv chord in E and a standby of jazz and older pop, where it usually walks to E. The same four notes read from F sharp spell F#m7b5, the half diminished chord, so which one you hear depends entirely on the bass note.

Am6 vs Am7

Both add a fourth note to A minor. Am7 adds G and sounds soft and settled; Am6 adds F sharp, one key higher, and sounds tense and questioning.

Hold A, C and E still and rock the top finger between G and F sharp. That one key is the whole difference between a chord that relaxes and a chord that leans forward.

Questions about Am6

What is the difference between Am6 and Am7?

One note. Am7 has G on top, Am6 has F sharp, the black key just below it. Am7 settles, Am6 pushes.

Why does a minor chord have a major sixth?

The sixth is measured from the major scale, not from the minor third. In Am6 the third is flattened to C and the sixth stays F sharp, and that mismatch is the sound of the chord.

What fingers do you use for Am6?

Right hand: thumb on A, index on C, middle on E, little finger on F sharp, which is 1, 2, 3 and 5. Left hand plays 5, 3, 2, 1.

Is Am6 the same as F#m7b5?

The four notes are the same: A, C, E and F sharp. With A in the bass you hear Am6; with F sharp in the bass you hear F#m7b5, the half diminished chord.

Where is Am6 used?

As the iv chord in E, in jazz standards where it often replaces Am7 on a tonic minor, and in older pop and film music where a minor chord needs to move rather than sit.

Chords to learn next

Other A chords