Lesson 21 · All 12 keys

Minor 6th Chord Trainer

Learn how a minor 6th chord is built one semitone-count at a time — a minor triad plus a major 6th on top — then put it to work with three MIDI exercises: playing all 12 minor 6th chords around the circle of fourths, and 5 jazz plus 5 gospel chord progressions that show off its bittersweet minor-key tonic color, in every key.

How a minor 6th chord is built

A minor 6th chord is a 4-note chord — a minor triad with one more note stacked on top. That extra note is a major 6th, not a minor one — the "minor" in the chord's name describes only its 3rd. Every minor 6th chord — in any of the 12 keys — is built the exact same way, by counting semitones to the right from a root note:

  1. Start on the root — the note that names the chord.
  2. Count 3 semitones to the right to land on the minor 3rd.
  3. From there, count 4 more semitones to the right (7 semitones from the root) to land on the perfect 5th.
  4. From there, count 2 more semitones to the right (9 semitones from the root) to land on the major 6th.
Example — D minor 6th (Dm6): start on D, count 3 semitones right to reach F, 4 more to reach A, then 2 more to reach B. D‑F‑A‑B is the Dm6 chord. The pattern 3, 4, 2 (9 semitones total from root to top) is what makes a chord a "minor 6th chord" — every one of the 12 minor 6th chords is this same shape, just moved to start on a different key.
Compare this to a minor 7th chord (Lesson 15), which counts 3, 4, 3 instead — a minor 6th chord raises that top note by one more semitone, swapping the minor 7th for a major 6th. That single semitone changes the chord's whole character: instead of the minor 7th's smooth, settled darkness, a minor 6th chord has a bittersweet, slightly unresolved color, common as a moody tonic in both jazz and gospel minor keys. Watch for one more mix-up: a minor 6th chord shares every note with a half-diminished 7th chord (Lesson 17) built on its 6th degree — Cm6 (C‑E♭‑G‑A) is exactly the same four notes as Am7♭5 (A‑C‑E♭‑G), just voiced from a different root.

Try it: pick a root and build the chord step by step

Step 1 of 4
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Chord toneNoteSemitones from rootMIDI #

All 12 minor 6th chords at a glance

ChordRoot+3 semitones → ♭3rd+4 semitones → 5th+2 semitones → 6th

This MIDI exercise plays all 12 minor 6th chords, one after another, moving around the circle of fourths — each chord's root sits a perfect 4th (5 semitones) above the last one: C → F → B♭ → E♭ → A♭ → D♭ → G♭/F♯ → B → E → A → D → G → back to C. Every chord is played as a full 4-note minor 6th chord (root, ♭3rd, 5th, and 6th together).

Chord 1 of 12
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The 12 chords, in circle-of-fourths order

#ChordRoot♭3rd5th6th

Five jazz chord progressions that put the minor 6th chord to work — mostly as a moody tonic color instead of a plain minor triad or minor 7th. Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
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Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes

Five gospel chord progressions built the same way. Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
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Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes