C♯m6 / D♭m6 Chord on Guitar

1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.

C♯m6 (also written D♭m6) is a minor sixth chord made of 4 notes: C♯, E, G♯, A♯. It sounds bittersweet, a little mysterious, and you hear it in gypsy jazz, film music and minor-key endings. It is the i chord of C♯ minor and turns up in 5 other keys.

The library above opens on C♯m6 with 14 shapes up and down the neck. Tap a shape to hear it, or play it one string at a time.

Notes in C♯m6

Note	Degree	Interval from C♯	Semitones
C♯	1	root	0
E	♭3	minor third	3
G♯	5	perfect fifth	7
A♯	6	major sixth	9

Formula: 1 – ♭3 – 5 – 6. On guitar the 5th is often left out of the bigger shapes without changing the chord. With the other spelling, D♭m6 is D♭, F♭, A♭, B♭: the same sounds under different names.

How to play C♯m6

Open positionEasyx42320

Fret 5Beginnerxxx656

Fret 7Beginner978xxx

Fret 9Beginnerxx(11)9(11)x

Fret 11Easyxx(11)(13)(11)(12)

E-shape barre at fret 6Medium976696

Fret 11 (root on the 4th string), step by step

1st finger (index): 4th string, 11th fret (C♯, the root).
2nd finger (middle): 2nd string, 11th fret (A♯, the sixth).
3rd finger (ring): 1st string, 12th fret (E, the minor third).
4th finger (little): 3rd string, 13th fret (G♯, the fifth).
Strum from the 4th string, and keep the 6th string and 5th string quiet.

Tips

The fret 11 shape is the one to learn first. Once it is easy, try the shape at the 5th fret (xxx656): the same chord, higher and brighter, handy when the chords before and after it sit up the neck.

Keys and progressions with C♯m6

C♯m6 belongs to 6 keys: vi in E major, iii in A major, ii in B major, i in C♯ minor, v in F♯ minor, iv in G♯ minor. In C♯ minor, try i–VI–III–VII: C♯m6 – A – E – B.