How to Play Em Guitar Chord: 4 Easy Ways

The Em guitar chord is one of the most common guitar chords of all. There’s several different ways you can play it and I’m always urging my students to learn them all because they all sound great!

In this free lesson you will learn:

  • How to play a standard Em guitar chord
  • 3 easy ways to play the Em guitar chord (ideal for beginners)
  • A super-simple 1-finger version of the Em guitar chord

Over 100,000 guitar-learners get our world-class guitar tips & tutorials sent straight to their inbox: Click here to join them

The standard way to play the Em guitar chord

You’ll play the E minor guitar chord (usually written as “Em”) thousands of times during your guitar journey. It’s everywhere! In its standard form it looks like this:

Em

Em Guitar Chord

(If you don't understand the above image please read our article "How To Read Guitar Chordboxes In 60 Seconds". It will make everything clear!)

As you can see the Em guitar chord is a simple 2-finger shape. Make sure you play all 6 strings so the chord sounds properly balanced. (This is important as we want to hear the full voicing of the chord with both high and low notes.)

It’s important that you use the correct fingers to play Em.

This will ensure you already have your first finger in the correct place when moving from Em to a G chord, which is a transition you will make many times. (The two chords are closely related and often appear together.)

The Em guitar chord is a nice simple one, enjoy it! 🙂

Other cool ways to play the Em guitar chord

I love this chord. A commonly used version of the Em guitar chord is Em7 (pronounced as “E minor seven”). This is a very handy chord to know as it makes the transition to and from a G chord much easier.

It also works well for transitions to Cadd9 which can often be used as a substitute for C.

With this one simple addition to an Em chord you put yourself on easy street to play Em, C and G. (Three of the most-played guitar chords of all!)

Here’s what Em7 looks like:

Em7

guitar chords for beginners

Note that this is now a 4-finger chord. How is this ’easier’ than the standard version of Em? In isolation, it’s not. But when the other chords in the song are G or C (which is often the case with Em) then playing an Em7 allows you to anchor fingers 3 and 4 on strings 1 and 2 (learn about string numbers here).

This is HUGE as it allows you to play Em, Cadd9 and G while keeping your hand in almost exactly the same place. This is much easier than playing Em, C and G. Listen carefully to this advice, it will save you many hours of frustration!

Learn 12 EASY beginner chords with our popular guide

  Stop struggling. Start making music.

  Learn beginner-friendly versions of every chord.

This is our most popular guide and it will improve your chord ability quickly! 😎

Get your own personalised guitar-learning plan 🎸

Get a custom guitar-learning plan here: Click here for GuitarMetrics™

World-Class Guitar Courses 🌎

Learn from the world's best guitar educators: Click here for our guitar courses

A 1-finger version of the Em guitar chord

Check out this easy version of the Em guitar chord, using just 1 finger!

Em (1-finger version)

E minor guitar chord

The Best Easy Versions Of This Chord

The easiest of all ways to play an Em guitar chord

Believe it or not, you can play an Em guitar chord by simply playing strings 1-3. Take care not to play strings 4-6! (String numbers are explained here.) This might be the easiest guitar chord of all time!

Em (no fingers needed!)

Em-guitar-chord

Are there any other ways to play the Em guitar chord?

There are lots more ways to play the Em guitar chord, but they’re not suitable for beginners. Let’s learn the easy ones first.

Have fun playing your Em guitar chords, they sound good whether they’re played on the cheapest budget guitars or the most expensive and best in the world. Enjoy! 🙂

What Type of Guitarist Are You?

Take our 60-second quiz & get your results: Take The Quiz

Join the world's best online guitar school 🌎

  • Get your own personalised guitar learning plan (customised just for YOU).
  • World-class online guitar courses. Learn at your own pace.
  • Community Campus & Learning Forum -  A friendly community! Connect with our team & students. 😊
  • Beginner Song library with chordsheets, tabs and tips. (Songs suitable for all levels!)
  • Regular live streams, seminars and Q&A sessions - Learn from world-class guitar educators. Get all your questions answered!

Click here to learn more about National Guitar Academy membership

Cool Guitar T-shirts 😎

Look cooler! Check out our merch: Click here to see our merch store

Want free guitar tips and video lessons delivered to your inbox?

Join over 100,000 guitar-learners and subscribe to our guitar-tips-by-email service. (It's free.)

We'll send you a series of lessons that will move you to the next level of your guitar journey.

Learn how everything fits together quickly, easily and effectively. We share ninja tips (for instant fun!) but also timeless fundamentals that will deepen your understanding.

More Cool Guitar Stuff

Learn about National Guitar Academy: About Us

Join us on Facebook for daily guitar tips.

Listen to our Learn Guitar Podcast for rapid guitar progress.

Check out our free chord lessons.

Get our best guitar tips & videos

Where should we send it?

Get our best guitar tips & videos

Enter your email address to learn our best guitar tips and tricks today!