The seven chords of E Minor with guitar diagrams, the progressions you will meet most, capo options, and free songs to play in this key.
The E Minor scale is E, F#, G, A, B, C, D. Build a chord on each note using only the scale's own notes and you get the seven diatonic chords below. Songs in E Minor are made mostly of these, with the i, iv and V doing most of the work. In practice the V chord is usually B or B7 (the harmonic minor's raised 7th) rather than Bm: it pulls back to Em much harder.
With sevenths: Em7 (im7), F#m7b5 (iim7b5), Gmaj7 (IIImaj7), Am7 (ivm7), Bm7 (vm7), Cmaj7 (VImaj7), D7 (VII7), and B7 (V7). Tap any chord for every voicing, the notes and how to play it.
| Numerals | In E Minor | Heard in |
|---|---|---|
| i VI III VII | Em C G D | the minor pop progression |
| i VII VI V | Em D C B | the Andalusian cadence (the V is the major chord) |
| i iv V | Em Am B | the minor three-chord progression (V from harmonic minor) |
| i iv VII III | Em Am D G | a folk and rock favourite |
| i VI VII i | Em C D Em | the rock minor loop |
Write one out in the free Chord Progression Chart, or train your ear to hear them with Name the Progression.
E Minor is one of the open-chord keys: its main chords sit near the nut, so no capo is needed. A capo still gives you other voicings of the same key: capo 2 with Dm shapes, or capo 7 with Am shapes.
Every key and fret is on the guitar capo chart, and the Chord Sheet Maker rewrites any song's chords for a capo or a new key.
Free chord sheets on Guitar Scribble served in E Minor, chords over the lyrics, printable.
Relative major: G major (same notes and chords, a different home). Parallel major: E major (same root, a different mood).
All free, in the browser. The Chord Sheet Maker transposes any sheet into E Minor with one click.
The seven chords built on the E Minor scale are Em, F#dim, G, Am, Bm, C, D. As roman numerals: i, ii°, III, iv, v, VI, VII. Most songs in E Minor use B or B7 as the V chord, from the harmonic minor scale, rather than Bm.
G major. It shares every note and every chord with E Minor; the difference is which chord feels like home.
No. E Minor is one of the open-chord keys, so its main chords are played near the nut without a capo. You can still use one: capo 2 with Dm shapes, or capo 7 with Am shapes.
