Modal RunsC6 Chord (Major 6th)
The major 6th chord adds a 6th to a plain major triad — root, 3rd, 5th, 6th — an alternative colour to maj7 with a different feel. The notes of C6 are C, E, G, A.
A retro, doo-wop and vintage-pop sound: it resolves as cleanly as a major triad but carries a rounder, less tense flavour than maj7.
C6 voicings on guitar
Every playable, root-in-the-bass grip standard tuning offers, computed from the chord’s own formula — not a fixed shape library.
Swap it in wherever you’d use maj7 as an ending chord — the 6th resolves a tune with less "still floating" ambiguity than a major 7th does.
Formula and intervals
R - 3 - 5 - 6 — 4 notes.
Scales that fit C6
Every scale below contains all of this chord’s notes — safe territory to improvise in over it.
Also compatible: Major Pentatonic, Major Blues, Diminished (HW).