How to Play Em on Piano

The E Minor chord sounds dark and inward. It stacks 3 notes: E – G – B.

Flattening the third by a semitone is the whole difference between major and minor. Everything else is identical.

Notes in Em

NoteIntervalFinger
EE4Root1
GG4Minor 3rd3
BB4Perfect 5th5

How to Play

Right Hand

Place your thumb (finger 1) on E. Use finger 3 on G and finger 5 on B.

Where it sits

Every note of this chord is a white key, which makes it one of the easier shapes to find without looking.

Press all 3 keys at the same time. Keep your wrist relaxed and your fingers curved. The blue dots on the piano below show exactly which keys to press — they turn green when you play the right note.

Other Minor Chords

Cm
C – Eb – G
C#m
C# – E – G#
Dm
D – F – A
Ebm
Eb – Gb – Bb
Fm
F – Ab – C
F#m
F# – A – C#
Gm
G – Bb – D
G#m
G# – B – D#
Am
A – C – E
Bbm
Bb – Db – F
Bm
B – D – F#

Other E Chords

E6
E – G# – B – C#
E7
E – G# – B – D
E9
E – G# – B – D – F#
E
E – G# – B
Emaj7
E – G# – B – D#
Em7
E – G – B – D
Edim
E – G – Bb
Eaug
E – G# – B#
Esus2
E – F# – B
Esus4
E – A – B
Edim7
E – G – Bb – Db
Em6
E – G – B – C#
Eadd9
E – G# – B – F#