Guitar · key of E minor

Chords in the key of E minor

The seven chords in the key of E minor are Em, F♯dim, G, Am, Bm, C and D. G, C and D are the major chords (III, VI and VII), Em, Am and Bm are the minor chords (i, iv and v), and F♯dim is diminished (ii°). Its relative major is G major, which uses the same seven chords.

Key

Scale

The chords of E minor
Numeral	Triad	Notes	Seventh chord	Notes	Number	Role
i	Emhome	E G B	Em7home	E G B D	1m	tonic
ii°	F♯dimthe edge	F♯ A C	F♯m7♭5the edge	F♯ A C E	2°	supertonic
III	Gdaylight	G B D	Gmaj7daylight	G B D F♯	3	mediant
iv	Amsoft fall	A C E	Am7soft fall	A C E G	4m	subdominant
v	Bmsoft fall	B D F♯	Bm7soft fall	B D F♯ A	5m	dominant
VI	Ccinematic	C E G	Cmaj7cinematic	C E G B	6	submediant
VII	Dheroic	D F♯ A	D7heroic	D F♯ A C	7	subtonic
V	Bthe pull	B D♯ F♯	B7the pull	B D♯ F♯ A	5	often used in place of Bm

Sound

Strum or arpeggiate any chord, tap a note to hear it, drag the strip under a picture to play it further up the neck, or pick another inversion. Library opens the chord there, with every other way to play it.

Em

LibraryStandard

i · tonic

F♯dim

LibraryStandard

ii° · supertonic

G

LibraryFamousStandard

III · mediant

Am

LibraryStandard

iv · subdominant

Bm

LibraryStandard

v · dominant

C

LibraryStandard

VI · submediant

D

LibraryStandard

VII · subtonic

Chord progressions in E minor

Press a chord to hear it and see its shape, or Play to hear the progression on guitar. The colours say what each chord does in the key.

Sound Pattern Tempo85

↓ · ↓ ↑ · ↑ ↓ ↑ · Down, down-up, up-down-up: the campfire strum, also called the calypso strum.

Colours

home, minorthe pullthe edgeheroiccinematicsoft falldaylight

What each chord does in its key. Press a chord to hear it and read more.

The minor key’s three chords

i | iv | v | i

Key Chord chart

i–iv–v–i, the minor key’s own three chords.

The epic minor progression

i | VI | III | VII

Key Chord chart

i–VI–III–VII, the sound of film scores and rock anthems.

The Andalusian cadence

i | VII | VI | V

Key Chord chart

Stepping down to a major fifth chord, heard in flamenco and in many rock songs.

To the relative major

i | iv | VII | III

Key Chord chart

i–iv–VII–III, a minor progression that lands on the relative major.

Climbing back home

i | VI | VII | i

Key Chord chart

i–VI–VII–i, common in rock and metal.

The minor ii–V–i

iiø7 | V7 | i7 | i7

Key Chord chart

The minor turnaround of jazz, in seventh chords.

The major fifth chord

In a minor key the fifth chord is often played major, B or B7 in place of Bm. Its third is the leading note of the harmonic minor scale, a half step below E, and it pulls back to Em more strongly.

The relative major: G major

G major has the same notes and the same seven chords as E minor, starting from G. A song in one often moves to the other. The parallel major, E major, starts on the same note with a different set of chords.

Other ways to play it with a capo

E minor is one of the easy keys on guitar, with open chords. A capo gives other shapes for the same sound:

Capo 2, the shapes of D minor: Dm, Edim, F, Gm, Am, B♭ and C
Capo 7, the shapes of A minor: Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F and G

The E minor scale and key signature

The notes of E minor are E, F♯, G, A, B, C, D. Its key signature has one sharp: F♯. Each chord of the key is built from these notes, a third apart: a chord on every note of the scale. See the E minor scale on the guitar neck, and the E minor pentatonic.

Keys nearby

On the circle of fifths, B minor and A minor sit on either side of E minor. Each shares six of its seven notes, which makes them the easiest keys to change to.

Every key

C D♭D E♭E F F♯G A♭A B♭B

C minor C♯ minor D minor E♭ minor E minor F minor F♯ minor G minor G♯ minor A minor B♭ minor B minor

All twenty-four on one page: chords in every key. To print these chords, open them as a chord chart, or make your own in the chord chart maker. This key on bass, ukulele, mandolin and banjo.