Estimated reading time 3 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Are you a new guitar player? Do you want to know how to play the E minor chord on guitar? E minor is one of the simpler guitar chords to play, especially if you use the easy version. Keep reading How to Play the Beautiful E Minor Guitar Chord to learn the “easy” and “full” versions of the open chord.
This article uses musical terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the post.
How to Play the Beautiful E Minor Guitar Chord #1: Introducing Em
Hand Icon (churien.deviantart.com/art/hand-template-blank-272630198) by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0). Modified by Geoffrey Keith.
There are two versions of open E minor pictured above:
- For each of the chords used in this post, I have provided a chord frame for both an easy version (which uses fewer fingers), and a full version.
- The simple Em (the one that’s color coded) is very easy to do because you need no fingers to play it. You just strum the three thinnest strings.
- However, even the full version is fairly simple to play, because it requires only two fingers. This allows you to strum all the strings, making for a full sound.
The diagram of the left hand (above) shows you the finger numbers.
If you’re new to guitar playing, you can start with the easy versions and work up to the full versions of each chord. For more information on simple chords:
- What Are the Best Easy Guitar Chords for Beginners to Learn?
- How to Play the Easy Beginner Guitar F Chord Without a Barre
In addition, I color code the chord frames when teaching younger students and students with special needs.
- For more information on how the color coding works: click here.
How to Play the Beautiful E Minor Guitar Chord #2: Transitioning from Em to Am
Now that we’ve looked at the E minor chord, let’s look at how you transition between the full Em and Am (the bottom two diagrams above):
- Move #2 and #3 fingers each one string closer to the floor but still stay on the second fret.
- Then, put your #1 finger on the second string, first fret.
- Now try transitioning back.
- Lift your #1 finger and move the #2 and #3 fingers each one string closer to the ceiling while staying on the second fret.
- This is the main chord progression used in the song (see the next section), so practice transitioning back and forth between these two chords.
How to Play the Beautiful E Minor Guitar Chord #3: Let’s Play a Song!
To learn the song, click on the link for the lead sheet:
They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love
- Chords: Em, Am, Bm, C, Am/C
- I picked this song because it’s one of the easiest to play using Em.
- You can skip Bm with no problems, which is what I recommend you do if you’re a beginner guitarist.
- Likewise, you can substitute the Am for Am/C as they are essentially the same chord, just with rearranged notes.
- If you need to get the melody into your ear, go to YouTube and search for the song.
If you decide to use Bm, you can start with the “easy” version (the second one pictured below). For more information on playing Bm:
Final Thoughts
Takeaway points:
- Start with the easy version and work up to the full version of E minor.
- Having said that, even the full version is fairly simple to play, requiring only two fingers.
- I picked the song (above) that I did for this post, because it’s one of the easiest to play using E minor.
Have fun playing!
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© 2025 Geoffrey Keith
Glossary
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