i6–iv

The i6–iv progression moves from the minor sixth chord on the tonic to the subdominant minor. The added major sixth gives the tonic a ♭ittersweet brightness before settling into the darker subdominant, creating a wistful harmonic color. This motion is characteristic of jazz ballads and film noir scores where emotional ambiguity is desired.

Pattern: i6 – iv   Example in A Minor: Am6 – Dm

Genre: jazz, film, classical   Difficulty: intermediate

Choose a Key

A Minor Am6 – Dm E Minor Em6 – Am B Minor Bm6 – Em F♯ Minor F♯m6 – Bm C♯ Minor C♯m6 – F♯m G♯ Minor G♯m6 – C♯m D Minor Dm6 – Gm G Minor Gm6 – Cm C Minor Cm6 – Fm F Minor Fm6 – Bbm B♭ Minor Bbm6 – Ebm E♭ Minor Ebm6 – Abm

Song Examples

Related Progressions

i–iv–v–i i–imaj7–i7–iv v6–I