# E Minor 6th piano chord (Em6)

Em6 contains E, G, B and C♯. A minor triad with the sixth added on top. C♯ is a black key; E, G and B are white.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/minor-6th/e/
- Entity: chord:minor-6th:e
- Notes: E G B C♯
- Formula: 1 ♭3 5 6
- Intervals from root: P1, m3, P5, M6
- Interval stack (semitones): 3 4 2
- Also written: Em6, Em6, E minor 6th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

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

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on E, finger 2 on G, finger 3 on B, finger 5 on C♯. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | E | E3 G3 B3 C♯4 | 7 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| First inversion (Em6/G) | G | G3 B3 C♯4 E4 | 6/5 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Second inversion (Em6/B) | B | B3 C♯4 E4 G4 | 4/3 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Third inversion (Em6/C♯) | C♯ | C♯4 E4 G4 B4 | 4/2 | 10 st, 138 mm |

## Voicings (10)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | E3 G3 B3 C♯4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | G3 B3 C♯4 E4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | B3 C♯4 E4 G4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, third inversion | C♯4 E4 G4 B4 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 | B2 E3 G3 C♯4 | 14 st, 193 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 3 | G2 E3 B3 C♯4 | 18 st, 248 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 and 4 | E2 B2 G3 C♯4 | 21 st, 289 mm | identical | none |
| Shell, root 6 ♭3 | E2 C♯3 G3 | 15 st, 206 mm | subset | omits B |
| Guide tones, ♭3 and 6 | G3 C♯4 | 6 st, 83 mm | subset | omits E and B |
| Rootless close | G3 B3 C♯4 | 6 st, 83 mm | subset | omits E |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Em | 1 ♭3 5 | drops C♯ | 3 |
| Em7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | C♯ becomes D | 3 |
| EmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | C♯ becomes D♯ | 3 |
| Edim7 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭♭7 | B becomes B♭ | 3 |
| E6 | 1 3 5 6 | G becomes G♯ | 3 |
| Em9 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9 | C♯ becomes D, F♯ | 3 |
| E | 1 3 5 | G, C♯ becomes G♯ | 2 |
| Edim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | B, C♯ becomes B♭ | 2 |
| Esus2 | 1 2 5 | G, C♯ becomes F♯ | 2 |
| Esus4 | 1 4 5 | G, C♯ becomes A | 2 |
| Emaj7 | 1 3 5 7 | G, C♯ becomes G♯, D♯ | 2 |
| E7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | G, C♯ becomes G♯, D | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {4, 7, 11, 1}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 7, 9]
- Normal order: [11, 1, 4, 7]
- Prime form: (0258)
- Forte number: 4-27
- Interval vector: <012111>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| E3 | 52 | 164.81 Hz |
| G3 | 55 | 196.00 Hz |
| B3 | 59 | 246.94 Hz |
| C♯4 | 61 | 277.18 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in Em6?

Em6 contains E, G, B and C♯. The formula is 1, ♭3, 5, 6.

### How do you play Em6 on piano?

Play E, G, B and C♯ together. Right hand fingers 1, 2, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 2, 1. C♯ is a black key; E, G and B are white.

### What are the inversions of Em6?

4 positions: root position E G B C♯, Em6/G, Em6/B, Em6/C♯.

### What is the difference between Em6 and Em?

Drops C♯. 3 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy Em6 for small hands?

The guide tones, ♭3 and 6 voicing, G3 C♯4, spans 6 semitones or about 83 mm.

### What are the frequencies of Em6?

From E3 at A440 in 12-TET: 164.81, 196.00, 246.94, 277.18 Hz.

### What is the set class of Em6?

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

### How do I transpose Em6 to another key?

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

## 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:e
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12