Arpeggio quality

m6

The minor sixth chord adds a major sixth to the minor triad, and that raised note changes everything: the chord stops sounding purely sad and starts sounding intrigued. This is the signature of the dorian colour, the sound of 1930s minor swing, and the standard tonic minor in many jazz standards. Because the sixth is major while the third is minor, the chord contains a tritone between them — a quiet tension that keeps the harmony moving without the pull of a dominant seventh. It is often interchangeable with m7♭5 in progressions, though its function is completely different. Listen for the sixth brightening the minor third.