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Chord & Fret

Harmonic field of E minor on guitar

E minor: E – F# – G – A – B – C – D. In the shapes below, the tonic opens with the bass on E. On the guitar, six strings give the chord room to breathe — some positions use them all, others ask you to mute the lowest ones. Its hollow wooden body gives every chord a warm, natural ring that blooms and fades on its own.

Em7, 0 2 0 0 0 0Em71EBDGBE
i · tonic0 2 0 0 0 0
F#m7b5, 2 x 2 2 1 xF#m7b52341F#×EAC×
ii° · subdominant2 × 2 2 1 ×
Gmaj7, 3 2 0 0 0 2Gmaj7312GBDGBF#
III · tonic3 2 0 0 0 2
Am7, x 0 2 0 1 0Am721×AEGCE
iv · subdominant× 0 2 0 1 0
Bm7, x 2 0 2 0 2Bm7123×BDABF#
v · dominant× 2 0 2 0 2
Cmaj7, x 3 2 0 0 0Cmaj721×CEGBE
VI · tonic× 3 2 0 0 0
D7, x x 0 2 1 2D7213××DACF#
VII · dominant× × 0 2 1 2

This is the natural-minor field. In practice the v often becomes V (major) or V7 — borrowed from the harmonic minor — to create the leading tone that pulls back to the tonic.

These are the first positions of every degree of E minor on guitar. In Chord & Fret, the Circle of Fifths opens the full field — every degree with all its positions, audio and the key's secondary dominants. Open in Chord & Fret →

See the full harmonic field of E minor →