Gm6 Ukulele Chord

Gm6 is the G minor sixth chord. It has four notes: G, B flat, D and E. On a ukulele it is one of the easiest sixth chords there is: two fingers, with the open G string as the root and the open E string as the sixth.

Middle finger at the 2nd fret of the C string, index at the 1st of the A, with the G and E strings open. The open E is the sixth and the open G the root.

How to play Gm6 on ukulele, step by step

Index finger: 1st fret, A string
Middle finger: 2nd fret, C string
Leave the G and E strings open. Strum all four strings.

Gm6 is hiding inside Gm. Play Gm 0231, then lift the ring finger off the E string so it rings open: the G that finger was holding becomes an E, and the chord becomes Gm6. Adding colour by lifting a finger is a ukulele speciality.

More ways to play Gm6

There are 3 common Gm6 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.

Gm6 ukulele chord diagram, barre at fret 3, played 3435 — Barre at fret 3

Gm6 ukulele chord diagram, frets 6 to 7, played 7767 — Frets 6 to 7

If it sounds wrong

The open E string is dull: The middle finger at the 2nd fret of the C string is brushing it. Arch the finger so the E rings free; it is the sixth, the note the chord is named for.
The B flat is weak: The index holds it at the 1st fret of the A string. Press with the very tip, close behind the fret, and check the string on its own; it carries the flat third, the note that makes the chord minor.
It sounds like plain Gm: Then the E string is being fretted at the 3rd fret out of habit. Gm6 wants it open. One lifted finger is the entire difference.

What makes it a Gm6

G · B♭ · D · E 1 ♭3 5 6

Gm6 is a G minor triad (G, B flat, D) with an E added: the major sixth, nine half steps above the root. The third is flat and the sixth is not, and that mismatch is what makes a minor sixth chord sound restless rather than simply sad.

The same four notes read from E spell Em7b5, the half diminished chord. Gm6 is the iv chord in D and a standby of jazz and older pop, where the move Gm6 to D is one of the oldest sounds in the songbook.

Gm6 vs Gm7

Both add a fourth note to G minor. Gm7 adds an F and settles the chord; Gm6 adds an E, one fret lower, and unsettles it. A semitone of difference, and the mood flips.

On the ukulele the whole family lives on the E string: fret it at the 3rd for plain Gm, at the 1st for Gm7, leave it open for Gm6. Two fingers hold still while one string walks through three chords.

Gm6 chord questions

What is the difference between Gm6 and Gm7?

One note on the E string. At the 1st fret it is F, which makes Gm7; open it is E, which makes Gm6. The seventh relaxes the chord, the sixth sharpens it.

Why does a minor chord have a major sixth?

Because the sixth is measured from the major scale, not from the minor third. In a minor sixth chord the third is flattened and the sixth is not, and that deliberate mismatch is the whole sound of the chord.

Is Gm6 the same as Em7b5?

The four notes are the same: G, B flat, D and E. With the music centred on G you hear Gm6; centred on E it is Em7b5, the half diminished chord.

Is Gm6 hard to play?

No. The standard shape is two fingers with two open strings, easier than plain Gm. It may be the only chord family where the sixth is the easiest member.

Where is Gm6 used?

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