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C6 Piano Chord: Emotions Evoked, How to Play It

1. The Big Picture

Below: This is what C6 looks like:

    • The C6 piano chord adds color and sophistication to the standard C major triad. While a basic C major chord contains three notes (C, E, G), the C6 chord combines that major-triad stability with the added color of a sixth degree (A) to create a tetrad (four-note chord). The result is something more nuanced and colorful, with a touch of sweetness, sophistication, and a hint of yearning.
    • In Western tonal music, sixth chords are considered extensions rather than alterations—the added sixth doesn't change the fundamental major quality but enhances it with color. 
    • The sixth chord can be found widely in classical music, jazz, and popular styles. It became particularly prominent in jazz harmony in the 20th century. The added sixth creates a smoother transition compared to a plain major triad, often feeling less abrupt and more lyrical.
    • The C6 piano chord doesn't possess the dominant function (like C7) that strongly propels music forward towards resolution. Nor does it have the stable, grounded feeling of a tonic triad. Instead, it often adds color and richness to the tonic chord in a major key.
    • The C6 chord serves multiple functions in tonal harmony:
- As a colorful alternative to the C major tonic chord;
- As a substitute for certain seventh chords;
- As a passing harmony that adds movement and interest. 

 

2. Emotions and Moods Associated with the C6 Chord

    • The fluid, easygoing nature of the C6 chord evokes a distinctive emotional palette that sets it apart from both the simpler C major triad and other extended chords like C7 or Cmaj7. The sixth has a relaxed and inviting sound. If used creatively, C6 can even introduce mystery or melancholy, particularly in slower tempos or introspective musical passages.
    • C6 possesses a brighter quality than a minor chord, yet the added sixth prevents it from sounding as purely happy or assertive as a major triad.
    • The emotional qualities of C6 include:
- Brightness with Sophistication: The C6 chord maintains the bright, optimistic quality of C major but adds a touch of sophistication. The added sixth creates a sound that's more complex and interesting than a plain major triad, yet still fundamentally cheerful.

- Playful Nostalgia: There's a nostalgic quality to the C6 chord that feels both vintage and timeless simultaneously, creating a sense of gentle reminiscence without melancholy.

- Whimsical Elegance: The C6 chord has a certain whimsical quality—it's more elegant than a plain major chord but less serious or intense than seventh chords. It carries a light-hearted sophistication.

- Warm Resolution: When used as a tonic chord, C6 creates a sense of warm resolution with a hint of lingering curiosity. The added sixth provides enough stability to feel resolved while maintaining just enough tension to keep the listener engaged.

- Dreamy Romance: Because of its mild complexity and rich tonality, the C6 chord is often found in love songs and ballads. It suggests wistfulness, emotional depth, and affection. Many jazz and popular songs employ C6 to evoke a bittersweet or dreamy feeling—neither completely happy nor sad—somewhere in between.

- Tender lyricism: Imagine the feeling of a fond memory, tinged with a slight awareness of its being in the past – that's often the emotional territory of the C Sixth. It can evoke a sense of yearning without intense sadness, a gentle longing or a pleasant ache.

- Open-Ended Contentment: Unlike a dominant seventh chord that usually demands resolution, the C6 chord delivers a feeling of contentment that doesn't push forward. It can feel like a satisfying endpoint with a subtle smile rather than a definitive conclusion.

- Gentle Tension: The sixth creates a dissonance with the fifth of the chord (G and A are just a whole step apart), generating a pleasant tension that's not jarring but adds complexity to the emotional experience.

- Approachable Complexity: The C6 chord comes across as friendly and inviting despite its added complexity. It doesn't intimidate listeners with darkness or heaviness, but invites them into a somewhat more nuanced emotional space.

- Bittersweet Undertones: In certain contexts, especially when voice-led from other chords, the C6 can take on slightly bittersweet qualities—happiness tinged with the acknowledgment of complexity.

• This emotional versatility makes the C6 chord particularly valuable for composers seeking to evoke warm, gentle happiness, or sophisticated brightness, or even a hint of nostalgia, without the melancholy of minor chords or the tension of dominant seventh or diminished chords.

 

 

Below: The Complete Guitar Chord Poster before typographic overlay: 

 

And after the overlay: 



About the Artist: Bettina Lewis

 

Expressionist artist Bettina Lewis was born in Antwerp, Belgium and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

She began studying art with the Art Students League and New School Art Department in New York City. From there, she moved to Italy, where she studied at Scuola di Porta Romana in Florence.

In 1971, she returned to New York and studied at the Norman Raeben Studio. By 1974 she had found her way to British Columbia, Canada, and earned her BA at Simon Fraser University and fine arts degree at the Emily Carr School of Art, now the Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

She remained in British Columbia, painting, illustrating, and mentoring other artists, until her death in 2005. 

 

On Her Approach to Painting

"Maybe the difference between professional artists and those who dabble is tenacity. I know that buried in me, ready to be uncovered, is a resolution, a resolution that will appear on my canvas. Holding this tension of anticipated resolution is the burden and the joy of a painter. Compared to this, the technical problems of drawing, applying color and paint, and devising composition are easy to overcome.

"Every artist has her own way of doing, of thinking: her own needs, tastes, standards, and temperament. To use an "ism" to group artists can be very deceptive. It can wash down the uniqueness of each individual. But if I am forced, I would not hesitate to attach my art to Expressionism.

"Expressionists are more committed to revealing unexpected emotions than they are concerned with creating precise images. Expressionists utilize streaky brush strokes to bear witness to the vital energy of living. They seek spontaneity not only in painting but also in relation to the imagery that takes form. They try the impossible: to put a bit of life on that which before them has no life. My approach to painting is to allow the images to appear with a minimum of rational planning and self-conscious forethought.

"Whatever people see in my work, they see."

— Bettina Lewis