Em6 arpeggio
E Minor 6 — 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 Minor 6
- Root
- E
- Quality
- Minor 6
- Type
- Minor sixth chord
- Note count
- 4
- Brief character
- Jazz minor with its characteristic major sixth. Major sixth over a minor triad creates a Dorian shade — warm, yet with depth.
Warm, "smoky", jazz-minor. Elegant sadness, "jazz bar" mood.
Recognized by the "Dorian" shade — minor with "warmth".
Notes & degrees
Minor triad + major sixth: 1-b3-5-6.
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 minor: added 6. From m7: 6 instead of b7.
Function and tensions
i6 in Dorian. Occasionally as a color chord in major.
Stable as a Dorian tonic.
Harmonic context
i6 in Dorian, ii6 in major.
Dorian mode, melodic minor.
Dorian 6th degree as a characteristic melodic tone.
Compatible scales & modes
All chord tones are contained in these scales — use them for improvisation.
This arpeggio on guitar 🎸
See how Em6 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.