Chords in the key of E minor

The guitar chords in the key of E minor are Em, F#dim, G, Am, Bm, C and D, with the Roman numerals i, ii°, bIII, iv, v, bVI and bVII. Five of them, Em, G, Am, C and D, are open chords. G major, its relative major, has the same notes and chords. See the chords of all 24 keys.

The seven chords in E minor

F#dim and Bm are barre chords at fret 2. Each diagram is the shape most guitarists hold in standard tuning, and on a piano the same notes make the same chords.

Numeral	Chord	Notes
i	Em	E G B
ii°	F#dim	F# A C
bIII	G	G B D
iv	Am	A C E
v	Bm	B D F#
bVI	C	C E G
bVII	D	D F# A

Seventh chords in E minor

Stack one more note on each chord, every other note of the scale again, and you have the seventh chords of E minor: Em7 on the first note, Bm7 on the fifth.

Numeral	Seventh chord	Notes
i7	Em7	E G B D
iiø7	F#m7b5	F# A C E
bIIImaj7	Gmaj7	G B D F#
iv7	Am7	A C E G
v7	Bm7	B D F# A
bVImaj7	Cmaj7	C E G B
bVII7	D7	D F# A C

How the chords in E minor are found

Write out the E minor scale: E F# G A B C D. From each note, take every other note up the scale, three in all: E, G and B make Em, the chord on the first note, and F#, A and C make F#dim, the diminished chord on the second. Do it on every note in turn and the seven chords follow the pattern of every minor key: minor, diminished, major, minor, minor, major and major.

Each letter from A to G stands once in the scale, so the note between F and G is written F# here, not Gb.

The same steps give the chords of every key: chords in a key.

The relative major of E minor

The relative major of E minor is G major, on its third note. It has the same seven notes and chords, counted from G: G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em and F#dim, so the bIII of E minor is the I of G major.

Chord progressions in E minor

Eight well-known progressions in E minor: two of them use only the key's own chords, and the other six borrow from outside it, as the Andalusian Cadence does with B. Each name leads to its chart and diagrams in E minor under chord progressions.

Progression	Numerals	In E minor	In the key?
Aeolian Vamp	i – bVII – bVI – bVII	Em D C	Stays in the key
Aeolian Descent	i – bVI – bIII – bVII	Em C G D	Stays in the key
Minor Blues	i7 – iv7 – bVI7 – V7	Em7 Am7 C7 B7	Borrows C7 and B7
Minor ii–V–i	iiø7 – V7 – i	F#m7b5 B7 Em	Borrows B7
Andalusian Cadence	i – bVII – bVI – V	Em D C B	Borrows B
Minor Cadence	i – iv – V – i	Em Am B	Borrows B
Dorian Vamp	i – IV	Em A	Borrows A
Phrygian Vamp	i – bII	Em F	Borrows F

The E minor scale on the guitar

You play the E minor scale in seven positions across the neck, each within five frets in standard tuning. All of them are under the E minor scale, and every other scale under guitar scales.

Keys next door to E minor

A minor and B minor, on the fourth and fifth notes of E minor, each differ from it by one note: A minor has F where E minor has F#, and B minor has C# where it has C. G major, its relative, shares all seven.

In the app

Play in E minor

Loop Em – D – C – D, or any chords of E minor, in TabTunix and play over them at your tempo. Keep the loop as an exercise with a target tempo, and come back to it until the changes are clean.

More progressions in every key under chord progressions, every shape of each chord under guitar chords, and how to change chords faster.

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Questions about the chords in E minor

Em, Am and Bm: the i, iv and v, on the first, fourth and fifth notes. Four of the eight minor-key progressions on this page play B or B7 in place of Bm, a major chord from outside the key: the Minor Cadence runs Em – Am – B – Em.

Play in E minor until its chords are yours. Free, for Mac and Windows.