Am6
A whole mode compressed into one grip.
Am6 is a minor chord with a natural 6th instead of a 7th. It is the shortest way to say 'Dorian' — the chord and the scale carry the same information.
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Minor triad plus a 6th
Am6 is A C E F#. The ♭3 (C) makes it minor; the 6 (F#) is natural, not flat. That is exactly the note that turns A minor into A Dorian.
- It is a minor triad with the 6th added.
- The 6 is natural — a ♭6 would be a different chord entirely.
- Am6 and A Dorian describe the same sound.
It is also a chord you already know
Those four notes — A C E F# — are the same four notes as F#m7♭5. Which name you use depends on which note the bass is playing. Same grip, two functions.
- Am6 and F#m7♭5 share all four notes.
- The bass note decides which name applies.
- This is why one shape can serve two places in a progression.
Where it lands
Use it as the i chord in a Dorian vamp, or as the minor iv in a major key for that sudden bittersweet turn. In jazz-blues it also works as the resting minor tonic, where m7 would sound too loose.
- Use it as i in a Dorian groove.
- As a minor iv chord it is the classic 'sad turn' in a major key.
- It resolves more firmly than m7 — good as a final minor chord.
Am6 is not a decorated minor chord. It is Dorian, played all at once.
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