Interval · 8 half steps
Minor sixth
A minor sixth is 8 half steps. From C, a minor sixth up is A♭.
- Half steps
- 8
- Short name
- m6
- Guitar frets
- 8
How it sounds
Bittersweet and a little yearning, a favorite in film scores. It uses the same keys as an augmented fifth but is heard as a sixth above the root.
Songs to remember it by
Hum the start of The Entertainer (the leap after the opening run). The jump between the first two notes is a minor sixth (it comes right after the opening run). Reference songs get you started; after a while you will hear the interval itself.
On the guitar
Two strings higher, 2 frets back. With the lower note on the low E or A string in standard tuning; shapes that cross from the G string to the B string move up one fret.
A minor sixth up from every note
| From | Up a minor sixth | Hear it |
|---|---|---|
| C | A♭ | |
| C♯ | A | |
| D | B♭ | |
| D♯ | B | |
| E | C | |
| F | D♭ | |
| F♯ | D | |
| G | E♭ | |
| G♯ | E | |
| A | F | |
| B♭ | G♭ | |
| B | G |
Chords with a minor sixth above the root
This interval isn’t in the game’s “How far apart?” round yet; it’s here so the reference is complete.