Em guitar chord
Em (E minor) is built from E, G and B, the degrees 1–b3–5. On guitar, the main shape is 0 2 2 0 0 0, the first diagram, marked with the star.
Quick test. Play a E major — or just hit play on its page — and right after, hit the play button down here. Same name, same root. But something got heavier. Nobody has to explain sadness for you to recognize it: that's Em.
Hear Em before you play
Why Em sounds this way
The trick is smaller than it sounds. Two of the three notes didn't move: E and B stayed put. Only the middle one dropped — a half step, the smallest distance in music — and became G. Now listen to the arpeggio, one note at a time and stop at the second note. That's the one. Half a step separates sunshine from drizzle.
How to play Em on guitar
On the guitar, six strings give the chord room to breathe — some positions use them all, others ask you to mute the lowest ones. So the first position below is your way in (4 open strings helping) — it's the main shape — that's why it carries the ⭐. Now the exercise that teaches more than any paragraph: E major, then Em, then major again. Back and forth ten times, slowly. Your ear learns the difference before your brain does.
In the app: 27 Em shapes on guitar
With the fingering and audio of each one, free. In the app, the arpeggio of each shape is part of Pro.
Precision Tuner: Get in tune before you play: chromatic tuner and reference tones, free in standard tuning · use it in Chord and Fret
Got the first one? Good — the other positions will wait right here. In songs that travel up and down the neck, that's where you'll end up living.
Left-handed? Mirror's right here
Em notes and degrees
Em stacks the root E, the minor third G and the perfect fifth B.
Where Em shows up
In real music, Em works almost always as i in E minor, v in A minor, iv in B minor. In global pop it's the famous vi: the serious detour a chorus takes without leaving the key. You've heard it a thousand times; now you'll start noticing it.
Transpose & Capo: Need it in another key? Transpose the progression for free; finding the best capo is part of Pro · try it in Chord and Fret
Identify Chord: Found a shape on your fretboard? Mark it on the screen and the app names the chord, 5 times a day for free · see it in Chord and Fret
Real songs pass through here: Sertanejo · pop axis · Folk · pop axis
Where Em usually goes
Treating Em as the home chord (i) of a minor key, it tends to go toward the pre-dominant (Am) or the dominant (B7, from harmonic minor), and the dominant pulls back home. Typically, not a rule.
Going beyond Em
To solo over it, E Dorian (E F# G A B C# D · 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7: the minor scale with a major sixth — the minor that smirks); E Aeolian (E F# G A B C D · 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7: the natural minor, the major scale's relative sibling); E Phrygian (E F G A B C D · 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7: the minor with a lowered second — a Spanish seasoning) work in full. The swaps below are the chord's cousins: different color, same job.
E Dorian
In the app: the 7 positions of E Dorian on guitar
With degree, note and finger labels on each one, free. Playing the whole scale is part of Pro.
The same E Dorian in its main shapes along the neck — pick whichever position sits under your hand. The rings mark the guide notes (the 3rd and 7th) that carry this chord's color.
Scale: The scale's positions across the neck, with degree, note and finger labels, free; playing the scale and the tempo-ramp exercise are part of Pro · try it in Chord and Fret
Scales to improvise over Em
To improvise over Em as home, the E Aeolian scale covers it whole: it contains every note of the chord. The best fit depends on the key, the surrounding chords and the tensions you want. And when the dominant (B) pulls back, the leading tone Eb is the note that wants to resolve home.
Swaps that work:
Reharmonize: Want richer substitutions? Reharmonize's Subtle and Medium levels are free; Bold and Jazz are part of Pro · open in Chord and Fret
This chord has a calmer sibling: Em7. Same seriousness, relaxed shoulders — worth the visit.
Em chord questions
What notes are in the Em chord?
The Em chord is made of the notes E, G and B.
How do you play Em on guitar?
Form the shape from string 6 to string 1: 0 2 2 0 0 0. “0” means play it open. The shape starts at fret 2.
What chord comes after Em?
Treating Em as the home chord (i) of a minor key, it tends to go toward the pre-dominant (Am) or the dominant (B7, from harmonic minor), and the dominant pulls back home. Typically, not a rule.
What scale works over Em?
To improvise over Em as home, the E Aeolian scale covers it whole: it contains every note of the chord. The best fit depends on the key, the surrounding chords and the tensions you want.