Voicings · Em6 · Guitar
Em6 is spelled E – G – B – C♯ (1 ♭3 5 6) — a minor tonic with a Dorian colour, or a rootless 9th of a dominant a fourth below. Here are 5 ways to voice it on guitar: drop 2, drop 3, shell, rootless a, rootless b. Every diagram is playable — press play to hear the chord, or “roll it” to hear the voices one by one, low to high.
The voicings
Take the close voicing and drop its second-highest voice an octave. The most-used four-note voicing on guitar and in piano left hands. Strings G-B-e, frets 4-5-3 (position 1).
Drop the third-highest voice of the close voicing an octave: a wide, open sound. Strings E-D-G, frets 3-2-4.
Root, seventh and third only. The fifth is dropped — it adds nothing to the chord's identity — leaving a light, clear voicing. Strings B-e, frets 5-3 (position 1).
Bill Evans-style left-hand voicing: the third on the bottom, the ninth on top, the bass player supplies the root. Strings E-A-D, frets 3-2-4.
The companion rootless voicing with the seventh on the bottom. Alternate A and B so the top voice moves by step through a ii–V–I. Strings E-D-G, frets 2-5-4 (position 1).
Reference
| Chord tone | Note | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | E | unison |
| ♭3 | G | minor 3rd |
| 5 | B | perfect 5th |
| 6 | C♯ | major 6th |
Arpeggio: Em6 arpeggio on guitar. Scale: E Melodic minor.
Common questions
E, G, B, C♯ — chord tones 1 ♭3 5 6. Rootless voicings add the 9th, F♯, and leave the root to the bass.
The shell voicing (root, seventh, third) on strings B, e: three notes, one comfortable shape, and it still sounds unmistakably like Em6.
Start from the close voicing E G B C♯ and drop the second note from the top an octave: B – E – G. It spreads the chord so it fits the hand — and on guitar it fits four adjacent strings.
Em6 is a minor tonic with a Dorian colour, or a rootless 9th of a dominant a fourth below. Its character is minor but bright.
Keep going
Same chord on piano · Minor 6th hub.
Other chords from E