I haven’t been able to find the A6 chord and then I thought it was a bug and I tried to see if there is even C6 etc. Not found in the whole program or I haven’t been able to find it. Or is this under a different name? However, it is a very commonly used chord.
the same A6 chord can be found under the name Amajadd13. Really confusing expression.
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One of the issues I have found with Scaler is that sometimes I am looking for a chord name and can’t find it. However, I have learned that the chords are often in Scaler, but with a different name because the chord in Scaler is enharmonic (i.e uses the same notes) with the chord that I am looking for.
I have found that the CHORD page is useful as it has a search box where you can enter the chord name:
You can then try out the suggestions.
Also, if you know the notes of the chord, you can addnotes to, remove notes from, or change the pitch of notes in a chord by clicking on the keyboard at ethe top of the page.
I always get confused by the naming, but the ambiguity isn’t unique to Scaler.
F#min7 might be viewed as an inversion of A6 (same 4 notes), and one chord reference I have suggest that ‘naming is dependent on the context’ whatever that means. The 13th is an octave above the 6th obviously. ,
My guitar chords program tells me A6 is A #C E #F, but that A maj add 13 is given as
A #C E #G B #F, so this disagrees with Scaler, although this contains the A6 notes.
So dunno, but I share the confusion.
I’m sure the Jazz folk or classical musicians could weigh in here…
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Yup, it is confuising, but Amaj add 13 is the same chord as A6, except I think that strictly the F# should be an octave higher! (add 13 to the root - the 13 being the interval between the notes), but if it sounds right…
As an exercise I have tried to identify all the A13 chords in Scaler using the CHORD page (I started with a simple Amaj as a reference)
Note that all these A13 and Amaj13 chords are not the same: this is the midi captured from this pattern
A13.mid (287 Bytes)
Could somone with a better understanding of theory explain this to me, please?
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as a guitarist, the A6 chord needs to be taken with four notes … many even wider chords are forced to be played differently than on the piano. e.g., A13. when playing the piano, your fingers are enough for the notes but not on the guitar, of course. So maybe I think the A6 is the only right way for guitarists and the notation way.
Of course, the A13 may have been voiced like that for guitarists (I’m a pianist?), and it is an A6 anyway,
If the note is functioning as a true 13th in a chord it usually includes or implies the 7th of the chord whereas when it functions as a 6th chord the 7th is often omitted. A 13th Chords and a 6ths chord share most of the same notes. The difference is, as Ray Charles would say, “how does it sound, baby.” 
Scaler does often use synonymous names for chords and at times a 6th is labeled a 13th, but, in general, Scaler handles enharmonics well. It can be confusing at first, but I’ve gotten used to how things work and adapted accordingly.
I think it’s best, as many have said, to think of chords as “sounds.” Scaler is packed with interesting sounds. After working with it for months now I still see there’s much more to look at. It all depends on what you hear.
I do not agree. An A6 chord should be A C# F#.
Scaler is my preferred tool, above all others, but this does not do it well.
An A13 chord is not like an A6, sorry. To make it a 6 chord, you have to drop the 5, and in A13 you still have the E
From experience, I suggest that when you want to put in an A6, you write F#m/A. Sounds like an A6
However, Scaler should be able to write A6 just fine, without having to resort to these inversions from the relative minor. I write it as a request
It is as simple as substituting the 5th for the 6th:
A C# E ------------ A C# F#
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What I said is a 13th chord is not the same as a 6th chord. If I played a tune and played the notes G, C#, F#, I’d call that an A7/13 (no root). If I played A, C# and F# that would be an A6th. One note different, totally different function and sound.
I don’t care what Scaler calls it, if the sound is right the name doesn’t matter to me. I’d like Scaler to do a ton of things it doesn’t yet do, but, it is what it is, so we adapt and make the most of it. Put in feature requests and they may be incorporated into future updates.
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I fully agree. If you look at sheet music books then yes there is always A6, C6, G6 etc. The musician knows immediately what is meant by that chord.
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You ar ecorect that theoretically the A13 should include the 7th and the 13th (F#) is an octave + 5 above the root. But I believe that for a guitarist this could be very difficult if not impossible to play, and they may substitute an A6 for the A13. Maybe a guitarist could comment on how they would play an A13?
I can’t see this. Don’t know whether it’s because my PC doesn’t have a PNG renderer on click (I fire up COREL to see these) or something went wrong …
(10 seconds later) Oh! As son as I posted this, it appeared … strange ! 
(5 minutes later) This is a good site I wasn’t aware of … I’ve bookmarked it even though I never play chords …)
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Usually, as you probably know, a proper 6th chord functions as a tonic. A true 13th chord usually functions as a Dominant. It’s the sound that matters. That said, Scaler, does have some naming conventions that may seem a little odd at first. I do appreciate the OPs question and observations. I was a bit confused by Scaler’s naming conventions and methods at first, but, as I said, I’ve adapted to how this amazing program works. I know the developers are looking at this and I look forward to seeing what they come up with.
Every update of Scaler has provided significant improvements to the program.
It all depends on the context and the sound. If the note is functioning as the 13th of a chord then that’s how it sounds, if is functioning as the 6th, then that is the sound.
If a Bass player or keyboard is playing a Root and I play the 6th degree of the scale and some other notes, like the flat seventh and 3rd of the scale, then the sound is a 13th chord. Guitarists often play partial chords omitting the root and fifth and adding tensions, passing tones and even a completely different chord over what “the current” chord is. At times, in Scaler, the chord I’m using has notes other than what’s in the strict chord itself. For example, one sound I love is “upper structure triads.” Scaler is great for this. The Chord is C Major, but the chord I’m playing is D Major. The “Sound” of this is C Major 6/9/#11 (D,F#, A over C,E,G). There’s an almost endless variety of interesting sounds just from this one concept.
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Great chords. I use them all but often not all the notes. I don’t always want such a full sound, so I might only play three notes and just outline the sound letting other instruments fill-in. Other times a big “orchestral” chord is right. Context is everything, imho.
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