E Minor Chord on Guitar
Em E G B 2 shapes Open chord
Chord diagrams
How to play E Minor on guitar
The E Minor chord (Em) is made of E, G, B - 1 b3 5. On a guitar in standard tuning the easiest way to play it is the open shape 022000, with no barre. Below are 2 shapes in all, from the lowest on the neck to the highest; the same chord sounds brighter the higher you play it.
A-shape barre, fret 7 x79987
Strings from the low E (left) to the high E (right). Numbers are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little. x = do not play the string, o = open string, a bar = one finger across several strings.
Notes
What notes are in E Minor?
The E Minor chord has 3 different notes: E, G, B. Root, minor third (3 half steps up), perfect fifth (7): only the third differs from the major chord. A guitar chord rarely has as many strings as notes, so shapes double some of them: the open chord sounds all six strings.
| Note | Interval from the root | Half steps |
|---|---|---|
| E | Root | 0 |
| G | Minor 3rd | 3 |
| B | Perfect 5th | 7 |
Chords that go with it
Chords in the key of E minor
The seven chords built on the E minor scale, with the easiest shape of each. i, iv and v are the backbone; VI, III and VII are the major chords borrowed from the relative major.
A progression to strum
- i - VI - III - VIIEm - C - G - D
Songs
Songs with the Em chord
Easy songs on this site that use Em, with the chords over the lyrics and a guitar that plays along.
Questions
Frequently asked
How do you play Em on guitar?
The open shape 022000: A string fret 2 (finger 2), D string fret 2 (finger 3); let low E and G and B and high E ring open.
What notes are in the E Minor chord?
The E Minor chord (Em) is made of E, G, B. Its formula is 1 b3 5. On the guitar, some of those notes are played twice on different strings.
Is there a barre version of Em?
Yes: a-shape barre, fret 7 (x79987). Barre shapes have no open strings, so you can cut the sound short with your fretting hand.
Keep playing
Strum Em, then build a song around it
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