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Major sixth

A major sixth is 9 half steps: from C up to A. Warm and sweet, a wide leap that sounds open and hopeful.

CA

The major sixth at a glance

The major sixth: its size, short name, inversion and frequency ratio
Major sixth
Half steps9 (four and a half whole steps)
Letters it spans6: C D E F G A
Short nameM6
Inverts toMinor third
Frequency ratio1.682 on a piano, 5:3 in just intonation

Every note’s frequency in hertz is on the note frequency chart.

Songs that start with a major sixth

Going up: "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" ("My Bon-") and the first two NBC chimes.

Going down: "Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen", its first two notes.

Sing the tune’s first notes in your head and you have the interval from any starting note.

The major sixth in chords

The 6 of a sixth chord (C to A in C6), and from a minor chord’s third up to its root (C to A in A minor).

Every chord’s notes, to hear on a keyboard, are on piano chords.

A major sixth from every note

The note a major sixth above each of the twelve notes
FromUp a major sixth
CA
C♯A♯
DB
E♭C
EC♯
FD
F♯D♯
GE
A♭F
AF♯
B♭G
BG♯

Questions about the major sixth

What is a major sixth in music?

A major sixth is 9 half steps: from C up to A. Warm and sweet, a wide leap that sounds open and hopeful.

How many half steps is a major sixth?

Nine, such as C to A or G to E.

What songs start with a major sixth?

"My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" ("My Bon-") and the first two NBC chimes. Going down: "Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen", its first two notes.

What is the inversion of a major sixth?

A minor third. Move the lower note up an octave and a major sixth becomes a minor third: their half steps add up to twelve.

Other intervals

Minor secondMajor secondMinor thirdMajor thirdPerfect fourthTritonePerfect fifthMinor sixthMajor sixthMinor seventhMajor seventhOctave

All of them side by side, with how to name one, are on the interval chart.

Put intervals in a song

Open the free editor with a beat playing, then draw a melody note by note in the piano roll and hear every leap. No account needed to start.

Start a beatIntervals

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