Em Chord on Guitar
Em = E – G – B (Root, Minor 3rd, Perfect 5th)
E minor is widely considered the single easiest chord on the guitar: 0-2-2-0-0-0, needing only two fingers planted side by side — one on the A string's second fret, one on the D string's second fret — with all four remaining strings, including both E strings, left open. There's no muting to manage and no awkward stretch, which is why it's the chord many absolute beginners strum on day one, sometimes before they've even learned a G or C.
Like E major, E minor rings with real low-end weight since it uses all six strings including the guitar's lowest, but the minor third (G natural instead of G#) gives it a darker, more brooding character that's become closely associated with rock, grunge and moody acoustic writing precisely because it's so easy to sustain and let ring while singing or improvising over it. Em is G major's relative minor, sitting as the sixth-degree chord of an identical one-sharp key signature — and it's equally at home as the tonic of its own E minor key, arguably the guitar's most riff-friendly minor key thanks to how much of its surrounding vocabulary (G, C, D, Am) sits in comfortable open positions. E minor's low open root also makes it a favorite drone chord for riffs that hover on the low E string between phrases, letting a player add melodic notes above a constant low pedal tone. It's also a common choice for teaching absolute beginners their first strumming patterns, since the fretting hand needs essentially no attention once the two fingers are placed, leaving full focus for the picking or strumming hand.
Fingerings
Open Position
How to Practice It
Because only two fingers are needed, this is the ideal chord for practicing clean transitions to and from anything else — try E minor to E major (just add the index finger to the G string's first fret) as the very first drill, since it isolates a single added finger with no other change. It's also the natural chord for practicing strumming-hand dynamics and rhythm patterns before the fretting hand has much to manage, and many teachers use it as the baseline for testing whether a beginner's amp or acoustic setup is properly intonated, since any buzz or dead string is immediately obvious with so few variables in play. Since only two fingers are occupied, use the free ring and pinky fingers to practice quick hammer-ons onto the third fret of the A or D string and back off again, a common riff-writing technique that this chord's spare fingering leaves plenty of room for. Once comfortable, try holding the shape while tapping a steady beat with your foot, since the chord needs so little fretting-hand attention that it's an ideal testing ground for developing internal rhythm independent of what the fretting hand is doing.
Common Progressions
- vi–IV–I–V in G major: Em – C – G – D
- i–iv–v in E minor: Em – Am – B
- vi chord in G major: G – Em – C – D
FAQ
- Why is E minor the easiest guitar chord?
- It needs only two fingers, no muting of any string, and a comfortable natural hand shape — every other commonly taught open chord requires either more fingers, a stretch, or deliberately silencing at least one string, none of which E minor asks for.
- What's the difference between E minor and E major?
- One finger: E major adds an index finger on the G string's first fret (raising that note from G to G#, the major third), while E minor leaves that string open — everything else about the two chords is identical.
- Why do so many rock riffs use E minor?
- Its root sits on the guitar's lowest open string, giving it natural low-end power, and because it needs only two fingers, players can add embellishments, hammer-ons or extra notes around the fixed shape without disrupting the core chord — a flexibility standard tuning is essentially built around.
- Can Em be strummed with a pick versus fingers equally well?
- Yes, and the choice mostly changes the attack rather than the notes — a pick brings out a sharper, more percussive strum well suited to rock and pop, while fingerstyle brings out more of the open strings' individual ring, which suits folk and ballad contexts better.
Em on other instruments: Em on Piano, Em on Ukulele. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.