Your pinky and ring fingers will create that same two-note formation that we discussed at the beginning of the post, except this time it’s on the 14th fret. You’ll use your index finger to barre the 12th fret. If you’re playing a song that requires you to be higher up on the neck, you may want to get comfortable with the E minor barre chord at the 12th position. It’s not quite as full as the more common version above, but it will work! Depending on the sound you’re going for, the delicate vibe may even be better.īe the first to know about new products, featured content, exclusive offers and giveaways. If you strum just those three strings without any fingers on the frets, you have a perfectly acceptable E minor.

In standard tuning, strings 1-3 are E, B, and G. But if you’re in a pinch, there’s a version of E minor that requires no fretting at all.

Stick with it it gets easier as your hand gets used to certain formations. One of the trickiest parts of starting to play the guitar is quickly switching from one chord to the next. Strum six strings down from the low E stringĭid you try it? Satisfying, right? Here are a few other variations of this common chord. Ring finger: 2nd fret of the D (4th) string Middle finger: 2nd fret of the A (5th) string You can strum every string, giving you a big sound. In standard E tuning, you just need two fingers to play Em. In the case of E minor, that means you’re aiming for the notes E, G, and B. So, the minor chord uses the 1, ♭3 and 5 to form its structure. If you’re familiar with minor chords as a whole, you’ll remember that what makes a chord minor is the flat 3rd interval. Playing the Classic E Minor Chord in an Open PositionĪ standard chord is made up of three notes: the 1st, 3rd, and 5th intervals. There are lots of ways to play this ubiquitous chord, but we’ll go over a few common formations here along with some examples of E minor in the wild. Once you learn Em, you’ll hear and see it everywhere. In fact, it’s one of the first chords my dad taught me when I was a kid. It’s used in practically every genre of music, and lucky for you-it’s one of the easiest chords to play as a beginner. The E minor (Em) chord is a staple of every guitarist’s arsenal.

E flat minor chord guitar