G#m6 Ukulele Chord

G#m6 is the G sharp minor sixth chord. It has four notes: G sharp, B, D sharp and F. The standard ukulele shape is a small barre across the G and E strings at the 1st fret, with the fifth and flat third fretted above it.

A small barre across the G and E strings at the 1st fret, ring finger on the fifth at the 3rd fret of the C string, middle finger on the flat third at the 2nd of the A.

How to play G#m6 on ukulele, step by step

Index finger: press flat across the G to E strings at fret 1
Middle finger: 2nd fret, A string
Ring finger: 3rd fret, C string
Strum all four strings.

Nothing in the grip rings open, so it is movable: the same shape one fret higher is Am6. Whatever the barre note on the G string is, that is the chord.

More ways to play G#m6

There are 3 common G#m6 shapes: the standard one at the top of the page, plus these further up the neck. You only ever need one. Tap any card to hear it.

G#m6 ukulele chord diagram, barre at fret 4, played 4546 — Barre at fret 4

G#m6 ukulele chord diagram, frets 7 to 8, played 8878 — Frets 7 to 8

If the barre will not behave

A string dies under the index: The index lies across the G and E strings at the 1st fret with two fingers working above it. Roll it slightly onto its edge so both strings get the bone rather than the soft pad.
The ring finger reach feels long: It takes the D sharp at the 3rd fret of the C string while the barre stays at the 1st. Drop the thumb to the middle of the neck and the stretch opens up.
It sounds thin: Strum from the wrist across all four strings evenly. The F under the barre on the E string is the sixth; if the strum skips it, the chord loses the note it is named for.

What makes it a G#m6

G♯ · B · D♯ · F 1 ♭3 5 6

G#m6 is a G sharp minor triad (G sharp, B, D sharp) with a sixth added, nine half steps above the root. Spelled strictly that note is E sharp, but chord charts write the plain enharmonic F, and so does this site: the shapes are what matter, not the notation.

The same four notes read from F spell Fm7b5, the half diminished chord. G#m6 is the iv chord in E flat and a standby of jazz and older pop, where its job is to keep a minor passage moving rather than let it settle.

G#m6 vs G#m7

Both add a fourth note to G sharp minor. G#m7 adds an F sharp and settles the chord; G#m6 adds the note one fret lower and unsettles it. A semitone of difference, and the mood flips.

The m7 is the everyday chord of pop; the m6 belongs to jazz, tango and older songwriting. In this key both are fretted shapes with nothing open, and this small barre at the 1st fret is the m6 the hand actually manages.

G#m6 chord questions

Is G#m6 the same as Abm6?

Yes, one chord with two spellings. The minor family in this key is usually written as G sharp, so that is the name used here.

Why does the chart say F instead of E sharp?

The strict spelling of the sixth of G sharp minor is E sharp, which is the same key as F. Chord charts write the plain name, and this site follows the charts: the shapes are the point, not the notation.

What is the difference between G#m6 and G#m7?

One note. G#m7 has an F sharp; G#m6 has the note one fret lower, written F on this page. The seventh relaxes the chord, the sixth sharpens it.

Is G#m6 the same as Fm7b5?

The four notes are the same: G sharp, B, D sharp and F. With the music centred on G sharp you hear G#m6; centred on F it is Fm7b5, the half diminished chord.

Where is G#m6 used?

As the iv chord in E flat, as a colour on the tonic in G sharp minor, and throughout jazz and older popular song, where minor sixths routinely stand in for minor sevenths.