Arpeggio · Em6 · Guitar
The Em6 arpeggio is E – G – B – C♯ — chord tones 1 ♭3 5 6. Em6 is a minor tonic with a Dorian colour, or a rootless 9th of a dominant a fourth below; its sound is minor but bright. Below, every E, G, B, C♯ on the fretboard is marked, with the root in gold. Press play to hear a one-octave arpeggio, or tap any note.
Visualizer
Guitar · standard tuning
Piano
Play runs the arpeggio up and down one octave in the position starting at fret 7. Tap any marked note to hear it. “Show” switches or combines the fretboard and keyboard; “Sound” picks the instrument you hear. Audio is synthesized in the browser.
Reference
| Chord tone | Note | Interval from E |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | E | unison (0 semitones) |
| ♭3 | G | minor 3rd (3 semitones) |
| 5 | B | perfect 5th (7 semitones) |
| 6 | C♯ | major 6th (9 semitones) |
Goes with: E Melodic minor (E F♯ G A B C♯ D♯). Voicings: Em6 voicings on guitar.
Common questions
E – G – B – C♯. As chord tones: 1 ♭3 5 6. Played one after another instead of together, that is the arpeggio.
Em6 is a minor tonic with a Dorian colour, or a rootless 9th of a dominant a fourth below. Its character is minor but bright.
E Melodic minor (E F♯ G A B C♯ D♯) — the arpeggio is the skeleton of that scale, so practise them together.
Start on the root E on the A string at fret 7 and play A-string fret 7, A-string fret 10, D-string fret 9, D-string fret 11, G-string fret 9. Then play it descending, then in eighth notes with a metronome, then over the a minor tonic with a Dorian colour.
Keep going
Same arpeggio on piano · Minor 6th hub · chord-scale theory.
Other arpeggios from E