# C♯ Minor 6th piano chord (C♯m6)

C♯m6 contains C♯, E, G♯ and A♯. A minor triad with the sixth added on top. C♯, G♯ and A♯ are black keys; E is white.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/minor-6th/c-sharp/
- Entity: chord:minor-6th:c-sharp
- Notes: C♯ E G♯ A♯
- Formula: 1 ♭3 5 6
- Intervals from root: P1, m3, P5, M6
- Interval stack (semitones): 3 4 2
- Also written: C♯m6, C#m6, C♯ minor 6th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | C♯ | Perfect unison | 0 |
| ♭3 | E | Minor third | 3 |
| 5 | G♯ | Perfect fifth | 7 |
| 6 | A♯ | Major sixth | 9 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 2 on C♯, finger 3 on E, finger 4 on G♯, finger 5 on A♯. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 2-3-4-5, left hand 5-4-3-2. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | C♯ | C♯3 E3 G♯3 A♯3 | 7 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| First inversion (C♯m6/E) | E | E3 G♯3 A♯3 C♯4 | 6/5 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Second inversion (C♯m6/G♯) | G♯ | G♯3 A♯3 C♯4 E4 | 4/3 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Third inversion (C♯m6/A♯) | A♯ | A♯3 C♯4 E4 G♯4 | 4/2 | 10 st, 138 mm |

## Voicings (10)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | C♯3 E3 G♯3 A♯3 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | E3 G♯3 A♯3 C♯4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | G♯3 A♯3 C♯4 E4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, third inversion | A♯3 C♯4 E4 G♯4 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 | G♯2 C♯3 E3 A♯3 | 14 st, 193 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 3 | E2 C♯3 G♯3 A♯3 | 18 st, 248 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 and 4 | C♯2 G♯2 E3 A♯3 | 21 st, 289 mm | identical | none |
| Shell, root 6 ♭3 | C♯2 A♯2 E3 | 15 st, 206 mm | subset | omits G♯ |
| Guide tones, ♭3 and 6 | E3 A♯3 | 6 st, 83 mm | subset | omits C♯ and G♯ |
| Rootless close | E3 G♯3 A♯3 | 6 st, 83 mm | subset | omits C♯ |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| C♯m | 1 ♭3 5 | drops A♯ | 3 |
| C♯m7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | A♯ becomes B | 3 |
| C♯mMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | A♯ becomes B♯ | 3 |
| C♯dim7 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭♭7 | G♯ becomes G | 3 |
| C♯6 | 1 3 5 6 | E becomes E♯ | 3 |
| C♯m9 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9 | A♯ becomes B, D♯ | 3 |
| C♯ | 1 3 5 | E, A♯ becomes E♯ | 2 |
| C♯dim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | G♯, A♯ becomes G | 2 |
| C♯sus2 | 1 2 5 | E, A♯ becomes D♯ | 2 |
| C♯sus4 | 1 4 5 | E, A♯ becomes F♯ | 2 |
| C♯maj7 | 1 3 5 7 | E, A♯ becomes E♯, B♯ | 2 |
| C♯7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | E, A♯ becomes E♯, B | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {1, 4, 8, 10}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 7, 9]
- Normal order: [8, 10, 1, 4]
- Prime form: (0258)
- Forte number: 4-27
- Interval vector: <012111>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C♯3 | 49 | 138.59 Hz |
| E3 | 52 | 164.81 Hz |
| G♯3 | 56 | 207.65 Hz |
| A♯3 | 58 | 233.08 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in C♯m6?

C♯m6 contains C♯, E, G♯ and A♯. The formula is 1, ♭3, 5, 6.

### How do you play C♯m6 on piano?

Play C♯, E, G♯ and A♯ together. Right hand fingers 2, 3, 4, 5; left hand 5, 4, 3, 2. C♯, G♯ and A♯ are black keys; E is white.

### What are the inversions of C♯m6?

4 positions: root position C♯ E G♯ A♯, C♯m6/E, C♯m6/G♯, C♯m6/A♯.

### What is the difference between C♯m6 and C♯m?

Drops A♯. 3 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy C♯m6 for small hands?

The guide tones, ♭3 and 6 voicing, E3 A♯3, spans 6 semitones or about 83 mm.

### What are the frequencies of C♯m6?

From C♯3 at A440 in 12-TET: 138.59, 164.81, 207.65, 233.08 Hz.

### What is the set class of C♯m6?

Prime form (0258), Forte 4-27, interval vector &lt;012111&gt;.

### How do I transpose C♯m6 to another key?

Keep the 1, ♭3, 5, 6 formula on the new root. Cm6 is C, E♭, G, A; D♭m6 is D♭, F♭, A♭, B♭.

### Is D♭m6 the same as C♯m6?

Enharmonically yes: the same piano keys and the same sound, spelled differently.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:minor-6th:c-sharp
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12