Major Sixth vs Minor Sixth

Side-by-side comparison of two musical terms.

	Major Sixth	Minor Sixth
Definition	An interval spanning nine semitones, often described as warm, open, and gently uplifting.	An interval spanning eight semitones, with a bittersweet quality often used in expressive melodic writing.
Category	intervals	intervals
Pronunciation	/ˈmeɪdʒə sɪksθ/	/ˈmaɪnə sɪksθ/
Origin	Latin (sextus, sixth)	Latin (sextus, sixth)
BPM	—	—
Synonyms	sharp sixth sixth	flat sixth augmented fifth (enharmonic)
Antonyms	minor sixth	major sixth
Usage	The melody opens with a gentle major sixth leap that gives the theme its warm, nostalgic character.	The vocal line leaps up a minor sixth at the climax, conveying desperate longing.

Definition: An interval spanning nine semitones, often described as warm, open, and gently uplifting.
Category: intervals
Pronunciation: /ˈmeɪdʒə sɪksθ/
Origin: Latin (sextus, sixth)
Synonyms: sharp sixth sixth
Antonyms: minor sixth
Usage: The melody opens with a gentle major sixth leap that gives the theme its warm, nostalgic character.

Definition: An interval spanning eight semitones, with a bittersweet quality often used in expressive melodic writing.
Category: intervals
Pronunciation: /ˈmaɪnə sɪksθ/
Origin: Latin (sextus, sixth)
Synonyms: flat sixth augmented fifth (enharmonic)
Antonyms: major sixth
Usage: The vocal line leaps up a minor sixth at the climax, conveying desperate longing.