E minor guitar chord (Em)

How to play Em

Finger numbers run 1 for the index to 4 for the little finger. String names are given as players say them — the low E is the thickest string (the 6th) and the high E is the thinnest (the 1st).

1. 2nd finger (middle) — 2nd fret, A string
2. 3rd finger (ring) — 2nd fret, D string

• Play open: low E (6th), G (3rd), B (2nd) and high E (1st) — strum them without fretting anything.
• Strum all six strings. Nothing is muted in this shape, so the chord should ring from the low E right through to the high E.

Notes and intervals in Em

Em is built from 3 notes: E, G and B.

• E — the root (R)
• G — the minor 3rd (b3)
• B — the perfect 5th (5)

Across the six strings the shape sounds E · B · E · G · B · E from low to high, so some notes are doubled in different octaves — that is what gives an open guitar chord its width compared with the same chord on a keyboard.

What Em is used for

Em is the easiest chord on the guitar: two fingers, six ringing strings. It is the vi chord in G major and the i in E minor, which is why it is the natural first chord to learn and the one that makes G, C and D start to sound like a song rather than an exercise.

Common mistakes with Em

• Using the index and middle fingers. Use the middle and ring instead — that leaves the index free for the G-string note that turns Em into E major.
• Not letting the top strings ring. All four open strings above the two fretted notes have to sound clearly, so keep the fretting fingers off them.
• Pressing on top of the fret wire rather than just behind it, which makes the note fizz instead of ring.

Chords that go with Em

Same-root variations first, then the chords a fourth and a fifth away — the shapes Em is most often played alongside.

• E major
• E dominant 7
• E suspended 4th
• A major
• A minor
• B minor