E6 arpeggio
E 6th — the notes E, G#, B, C# played one at a time, bottom-up and back.
Musical context
How the arpeggio relates to the chord, scale, mode and key.
How to play the arpeggio
Theory
General info
- Full name
- E 6th
- Root
- E
- Quality
- 6th
- Type
- Major sixth chord
- Note count
- 4
- Brief character
- Warm, retro-major sound with a 50s-60s character. Major sixth adds a warm "retro" overtone to the major triad.
Warm, "sunny", slightly nostalgic. Coziness, retro mood, light nostalgia.
Recognised by the soft "retro" ring of the major sixth.
Notes & degrees
Major triad + major sixth: 1-3-5-6.
On the piano
An arpeggio is a broken chord: the same notes played one after another rather than together, bottom-up and back. On the piano they are usually split between the two hands — in an accompaniment, for instance, the left hand carries the bass while the right fills in the figuration.
Any chord can be played arpeggiato or turned into figuration — a broken bass, Alberti figures, a waltz accompaniment. Unlike the guitar, where an arpeggio is tied to the order the strings are plucked, there is no fixed fingering “shape” here — evenness and legato between the notes matter most.
Chord basis
From major: added 6. From maj7: 6 instead of 7.
Function and tensions
Tonic in jazz and swing (I6). Subdominant (IV6).
Fully stable — an enriched tonic.
Harmonic context
I6 and IV6 — typical functions in swing and jazz.
Major pentatonic, Ionian, Mixolydian.
Sixth as a melodic tone in swing improvisation.
Compatible scales & modes
All chord tones are contained in these scales — use them for improvisation.
This arpeggio on guitar 🎸
See how E6 looks on guitar.
Circle of fifths
Keys where this chord functions as a scale degree, on the circle of fifths.
How to play on piano
Practice
Keyboard Trainer
Reinforce it in practice — play and name notes on the interactive keyboard.