E minor chord on piano

The Em piano chord (E minor) is three notes: E, G and B. Start on E, count three half steps up to G, then four more to B.

  • Eroot, 1
  • Gminor 3rd, ♭3
  • Bperfect 5th, 5
E1G3B5

Fingers are numbered from the thumb, 1, to the little finger, 5. Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

How to play E minor on piano

  1. Find E, the white key just right of a group of two black keys.
  2. Put your right thumb (finger 1) on E.
  3. Count three half steps up, black and white keys alike, to G. Rest your middle finger (3) there.
  4. Count four more half steps to B for your little finger (5).
  5. Press all three keys together.
  6. For the left hand, play the same keys with fingers 5, 3 and 1, or play E an octave lower with your little finger.

Inversions

  1. E1G3B5

    Root position

    E, G, B

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  2. G1B2E5

    1st inversion

    G, B, E

    Right hand 1, 2, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  3. B1E3G5

    2nd inversion

    B, E, G

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 2, 1.

Practice E minor

Hold each position of E minor for four beats, then move to the next: root position, 1st inversion, 2nd inversion, and round again. Start at 60 beats a minute and move up toward 100 once every change lands on the beat.

EGB
  1. Root positionE–G–B
  2. 1st inversionG–B–E
  3. 2nd inversionB–E–G

The shape of E minor

E minor is all white keys, the same pattern as D minor and A minor.

E minor is built from the E natural minor scale: take its 1st, 3rd and 5th notes, skipping every other note.

  1. E1
  2. F♯2
  3. G3
  4. A4
  5. B5
  6. C6
  7. D7

Smooth changes from E minor

Jumping from one root position chord to the next moves the whole hand. The right inversion keeps shared notes still and moves the others the shortest way. Below are the chords built on the 4th and 5th notes of E minor's own key: Am and B.

  • EAC

    From Em to Am, play Am in 2nd inversion (E–A–C): E stays, G moves up two half steps to A and B moves up a half step to C.

  • BD♯F♯

    From Em to B, play B in 1st inversion (D♯–F♯–B): E moves down a half step to D♯, G moves down a half step to F♯ and B stays.

E minor on the staff and on guitar

On the treble staff, E sits on the bottom line, G on the second line and B on the middle line.
23EBEGBE
Open EmFrets, low E to high E: 0 2 2 0 0 0
7fr×13421EBEGB
Am shape, 7th fretFrets, low E to high E: x 7 9 9 8 7

Keys with E minor in them

  • C majoriiiC, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim
  • D majoriiD, Em, F♯m, G, A, Bm, C♯dim
  • G majorviG, Am, Bm, C, D, Em, F♯dim
  • E minoriEm, F♯dim, G, Am, Bm, C, D
  • A minorvAm, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F, G
  • B minorivBm, C♯dim, D, Em, F♯m, G, A

Progressions that use it

  • i–VI–III–VII, in E minor

    1. iEm
    2. VIC
    3. IIIG
    4. VIID

  • i–iv–v, in E minor

    1. iEm
    2. ivAm
    3. vBm

  • i–VII–VI–V (Andalusian cadence), in E minor

    1. iEm
    2. VIID
    3. VIC
    4. VB

  • iiø7–V7–i, in E minor

    1. iiø7F♯m7♭5
    2. V7B7
    3. iEm

Related chords

Hearing a chord you can't name? Press its keys in the chord identifier.

Save or print the E minor chord chart

E minor chord on piano keyboard, notes E G B
Download the E minor chord chart (PNG). Free to print and share. For every chord on one page, see the piano chord chart.

Practice notes for E minor

E minor is all white keys, E, G and B, like D minor and A minor. Guitar players know it as one of the easiest guitar chords; on piano it is just as friendly.

Where it goes wrong. E is just right of the two black keys. The thumb often lands on F instead. Find the pair of black keys, then the white key immediately right of it. The little finger then falls on B, just right of the group of three black keys.

How to practice it. Play E minor and E major one after the other: the middle finger moves from G up to the black G♯. Then practice the change to A minor in 2nd inversion (E–A–C): the thumb stays on E, the middle finger moves to A and the little finger to C. Both chords are all white keys.

What to listen for. E minor and G major share two notes, G and B. Play one after the other and listen: changing only one note, E to D, turns E minor into G major.

What to learn next. A minor and B major, the iv and V chords in E minor, and G major, its relative major.

Questions

What notes are in a E minor chord?

E, G and B. E is the root, G is a minor 3rd above it and B is a perfect 5th above it.

How is E minor different from E major?

Only the middle note changes. E major raises G a half step to G♯; the other two notes stay.

What does Em mean?

The small m means minor: Em is E minor, E, G and B. You may also see it written Emin or E−.