F#m6 Chord on Guitar
F#m6 = F# – A – C# – D# (Root, Minor 3rd, Perfect 5th, Major 6th)
F#m6 starts from the F# minor barre and raises the fifth by two frets to the major sixth, a change that sounds small on paper but gives the chord a genuinely different emotional temperature — more restless and cinematic than the plain minor triad it's built from.
F#-A-D#: root, minor third, and major sixth, with the fifth entirely absent from this compact voicing and the root doubled. The combination of a minor third with a major sixth is the signature interval pair of the Dorian mode, which is why m6 chords carry that particular moody, slightly unresolved character associated with film-score minor passages and modal jazz more than with straightforward pop-minor sadness. It functions as a darker, more harmonically active substitute for plain F# minor, especially effective right before a cadence where extra motion toward the dominant is wanted.
Fingerings
Barre (2nd fret)
How to Practice It
From the F# minor barre, move the finger that holds the fifth up two frets to the sixth — since the fifth disappears from this voicing rather than being doubled elsewhere, focus on making sure the new sixth actually rings clearly rather than accidentally muting the string in the process. Practice resolving F#m6 into F#m and then into a dominant chord like C#7, since hearing the sixth's pull toward the dominant is what makes the color chord's function click.
Common Progressions
- F#m – F#m6 – C#7 – F#m (i – i6 – V7 – i in F# minor, a classic minor cadential move)
- F#m6 – B – F#m6 (a static Dorian-flavored vamp)
- D – F#m6 – E (a color substitution for F#m within A major-adjacent material)
- F#m6 – E – D – C#7 (a descending minor-key turnaround)
FAQ
- What note does F#m6 add to plain F# minor?
- It doesn't just add a note — it replaces the fifth (C#) with the major sixth (D#), so the fifth drops out of this particular six-string voicing entirely while the sixth becomes the new color tone.
- Why is F#m6 described as having a Dorian sound?
- The Dorian mode is defined by pairing a minor third with a major sixth, exactly the two color intervals present in an m6 chord, so the chord carries that mode's characteristic moody-but-not-fully-dark quality.
- Is F#m6 harder to fret than F# minor?
- About the same — one finger moves two frets further than it would for the plain minor triad, with no additional fingers required, so the physical jump is small even though the harmonic effect is noticeable.
- When would F#m6 be chosen over plain F#m?
- When a minor progression needs a touch more harmonic motion or a moodier, more cinematic edge — F#m6 works especially well right before a dominant chord, since the added sixth points toward that resolution more strongly than a plain minor triad does.
- Does F#m6 ever get confused with a different chord built on another root?
- Yes, in principle — an m6 chord shares its four notes with a half-diminished (m7b5) chord built a major sixth higher, since both are stacks of the same four pitches viewed from different roots, though the two chords function quite differently in context.
F#m6 on other instruments: F#m6 on Piano. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.