Em chord guitar diagrams, chord charts and photos. Everything you need to know to play an E minor chord on your guitar.
Em Chord Guitar Fretboard Diagrams
The following diagrams show you how to play an E minor chord in several fretboard positions. Open position and movable bar chord shapes have been included.
- You can download a printable guitar chords book here: Guitar Chords eBook
Open Position Em Chord Shape
This is the most common way of playing an Em guitar chord. You can see it being played in the photo below.


E Minor Barre / Movable Chord Shapes
Below you’ll find two other ways of playing a Em guitar chord. The first method is a barre chord (sometimes known as a bar chord), in which the first finger is placed over the strings to hold down the notes on both the 5th and 1st strings.
The second shape can be played with a barre, but it’s not necessary, as the 1st finger is only holding down one string. However, many guitarists hold down the barre ready to play other chords.


E Minor Chords Information
- The notes contained in an E minor chord are: E, G, B
- The chord symbol for an E minor is: Em
E minor chords can be played in various ways on the guitar. Three of the most commonly-used Em chord guitar shapes are shown above.
The two barre chord shapes can be used to play other minor chords. You could play either of them a fret higher to play an F minor chord.
Chord shapes such as these are known as ‘movable’ chord shapes.
Em Chord Guitar Shape Conclusion
We hope that you have enjoyed learning how to play the Em chord guitar shapes on this page.
You can learn more popular chords here: All Guitar Chords Chart
Other guitar chords pages:
- Learn some cool-sounding chords here: Cool Guitar Chords
- Learn how to play barre chords here: Bar Chords
- Download your own printable guitar chords book here: Guitar Chords eBook