Banjo B6 chord (Sawmill)B sixth on the 5-string banjo: 4 4 3 6, and 3 more shapes

B6 chord chart for 5-string banjo in Sawmill tuning: 4 4 3 6, from the 3rd fret, with the short 5th string marked
B6 (B sixth) on the 5-string banjo, Sawmill: 4 4 3 6, 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: 4 4 3 6 (from the 3rd fret)

  1. String 4 (D): 4th fret, middle finger, F♯
  2. String 3 (G): 4th fret, ring finger, B
  3. String 2 (C): 3rd fret, index finger, D♯
  4. String 1 (D): 6th fret, little finger, G♯
  5. String 5, the short g: open, G, not in the chord

Sounds: F♯ B D♯ G♯  ·  B6 is B, D♯, F♯, G♯ (1 · 3 · 5 · 6)

The 5th string: the short g rubs against the F♯ and G♯ 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 B6 shapes

  1. 6fr4311gBD♯F♯G♯9 8 6 6
    6fr
  2. 8fr2113gBD♯G♯B9 8 8 9
    8fr · no 5th
  3. 11fr2314gD♯G♯BD♯13 13 11 13
    11fr · no 5th

Other B chords in Sawmill

BBmB7Bm7Bmaj7B6Bsus4Bsus2Bdim

Other sixth chords

G6A6D6C6B6E6F6B♭6

B6 in other tunings

Open GDouble COpen DC Tuning

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