Banjo A6 chord (Sawmill)A sixth on the 5-string banjo: 2 2 1 4, and 3 more shapes

A6 chord chart for 5-string banjo in Sawmill tuning: 2 2 1 4, first position, with the short 5th string marked
A6 (A sixth) on the 5-string banjo, Sawmill: 2 2 1 4, string 4 to string 1. Fingers are numbered on the dots; copper marks the root; the green ring on the left is the 5th string, solid when it’s in the chord.

Frets, string 4 to string 1: 2 2 1 4 (first position)

  1. String 4 (D): 2nd fret, middle finger, E
  2. String 3 (G): 2nd fret, ring finger, A
  3. String 2 (C): 1st fret, index finger, C♯
  4. String 1 (D): 4th fret, little finger, F♯
  5. String 5, the short g: open, G, not in the chord

Sounds: E A C♯ F♯  ·  A6 is A, C♯, E, F♯ (1 · 3 · 5 · 6)

The 5th string: the short g rubs against the F♯ in this shape, a semitone away: some players let it ring, some skip it.

Sawmill tuning: gDGCD, the short 5th string first, then strings 4 to 1.

Hear it in the app ›

The link can’t set the tuning: the app starts in open G. Choose Sawmill once in its Settings and it remembers.

More A6 shapes

  1. 4fr4311gAC♯EF♯7 6 4 4
    4fr
  2. 6fr2113gAC♯F♯A7 6 6 7
    6fr · no 5th
  3. 9fr2314gC♯F♯AC♯11 11 9 11
    9fr · no 5th

Other A chords in Sawmill

AAmA7Am7Amaj7A6Asus4Asus2AdimAaug

Other sixth chords

G6A6D6C6B6E6F6B♭6

A6 in other tunings

Open GDouble COpen DC Tuning

All Sawmill banjo chords · Printable chart (PDF) · How to tune · The app