Six-five chord
The six-five chord is the first inversion of a seventh chord: the third lies in the bass, above it lie fifth, seventh and root. The name comes from the figured bass numeral 6/5. Most often it is the inversion of the dominant.
- Construction
- first inversion of a seventh chord
- In the bass
- the third
- Figured bass
- 6/5
- With G7
- B in the bass: B–D–F–G
- German functional theory
- D7 with a small 3 below the symbol
The seventh chord with its third in the bass
A seventh chord has four notes and so can appear in three inversions. If the third is in the bass it is the first inversion: the six-five chord. The figured-bass numeral 6/5 names the characteristic intervals above the bass, the fifth and the sixth. With the dominant seventh chord G7 with the notes G–B–D–F the B lies in the bass.
G7 in all four positions (bass clef)
The marked chord is the six-five chord: the same seventh chord G–B–D–F, only with B in the bass. Next come the four-three chord (D in the bass) and the four-two chord (F in the bass). Where F and G lie directly next to each other the noteheads are drawn offset.
Subdominant with added sixth or six-five chord?
On the left the subdominant F–A–C with the added sixth D. On the right the seventh chord on D (D–F–A–C). If you invert the seventh chord so that F lies in the bass, exactly the notes of the left chord arise. That is the double meaning that Rameau described as “double emploi”.
In the glossary: Seventh chord · Four-three chord · Four-two chord
The leading tone in the bass
Most often the six-five chord appears as the inversion of the dominant. Then the leading tone lies in the bass. It leads as a semitone step upwards into the root of the tonic chord, as in the listening example from B to C. That is a smooth, strong movement that makes the close less final than root position but clearly purposeful.
The seventh F lies in an upper voice and is resolved downwards as usual, here to E. Because the leading tone is in the bass it must not be doubled in an upper voice: otherwise octave parallels would arise at the resolution.
| Position | Bass | Figured bass | German functional theory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root position | G root | 7 | D7 |
| Six-five chord | B third | 6/5 | D7 with small 3 |
| Four-three chord | D fifth | 4/3 | D7 with small 5 |
| Four-two chord | F seventh | 2 (4/2) | D7 with small 7 |
Sixte ajoutée: the same chord, another reading
The six-five chord has a second role on the subdominant side. A seventh chord on the second degree (in C major D–F–A–C), with its third in the bass, consists of F, A, C and D. These are exactly the notes of the subdominant with an added sixth. Which reading applies depends on the theory: in functional theory the reading as subdominant with added sixth prevails, in degree theory (Roman numerals) the reading as an inversion. More under Sixte ajoutée.
Continue on Maikstrings
Related terms
Seventh chordFour-three chordFour-two chordSix-three chordSixte ajoutéeDominantChord inversionFigured bass
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
← Back to the glossary