The key of E minor has one sharp. For reference, here are the notes in the E minor scale:
- E
- F Sharp
- G
- A
- B
- C
- D
All the chords in the key of E minor are made up of these seven notes, and each note gets to be the root note for one of the chords, thus making seven triad chords in this key.
- E Minor
- F Sharp Diminished
- G Major
- A Minor
- B Minor
- C Major
- D Major
Note: In this article I’m using guitar chord charts that I created using Microsoft Paint. Here are all the guitar chord charts that are free to use personally and commercially under Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License.
i Chord — E Minor or E Minor Seventh
The first chord (i) in the key of E minor is the E minor chord. Below is my preferred way to play the E minor chord on guitar.
The E minor seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the i chord in the key of E minor. Below is my favorite way to play the E minor seventh chord.
iidim Chord — F Sharp Diminished or F Sharp Minor Seventh Flat Five
The second chord (iidim) in the key of E minor is the F sharp diminished chord. Below is my preferred way to play the F sharp diminished chord on guitar.
The F sharp minor seventh flat five chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the iidim chord in the key of E minor. Below is my favorite way to play the F sharp minor seventh flat five chord.
III Chord — G Major or G Major Seventh
The third chord (III) in the key of E minor is the G major chord. Below is my preferred way to play the G major chord on guitar.
The G major seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the III chord in the key of E minor. Below is my favorite way to play the G major seventh chord.
iv Chord — A Minor or A Minor Seventh
The fourth chord (iv) in the key of E minor is the A minor chord. Below is my preferred way to play the A minor chord on guitar.
The A minor seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the iv chord in the key of E minor. Below is my favorite way to play the A minor seventh chord.
v Chord — B Minor or B Minor Seventh
The fifth chord (v) in the key of E minor is the B minor chord. Below is my preferred way to play the B minor chord on guitar.
The B minor seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the v chord in the key of E minor. Below is my favorite way to play the B minor seventh chord.
VI Chord — C Major or C Major Seventh
The sixth chord (VI) in the key of E minor is the C major chord. Below is my preferred way to play the C major chord on guitar.
The C major seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the VI chord in the key of E minor. Below is my favorite way to play the C major seventh chord.
VII Chord — D Major or D Dominant Seventh
The seventh chord (VII) in the key of E minor is the D major chord. Below is my preferred way to play the D major chord on guitar.
The D dominant seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the VII chord in the key of E minor. Below is my favorite way to play the D dominant seventh chord.
Chord Progressions in the Key of E Minor
Here are 10 chord progressions in the key of E Minor that you can experiment with. I have included guitar tablature to make playing the chords easier for you.
1. E Minor, A Minor, B Minor
E| --0---0-----0---0-----2---2---
B| --0---0-----1---1-----3---3---
G| --0---0-----2---2-----4---4---
D| --2---2-----2---2-----4---4---
A| --2---2-----0---0-----2---2---
E| --0---0-----------------------
2. E Minor, A Minor, C Major, B Minor
E| --0---0-----0---0-----0---0-----2---2---
B| --0---0-----1---1-----1---1-----3---3---
G| --0---0-----2---2-----0---0-----4---4---
D| --2---2-----2---2-----2---2-----4---4---
A| --2---2-----0---0-----3---3-----2---2---
E| --0---0---------------------------------
3. E Minor, C Major, G Major, A Minor
E| --0---0-----0---0-----3---3-----0---0---
B| --0---0-----1---1-----0---0-----1---1---
G| --0---0-----0---0-----0---0-----2---2---
D| --2---2-----2---2-----0---0-----2---2---
A| --2---2-----3---3-----2---2-----0---0---
E| --0---0---------------3---3-------------
4. E Minor, D Major, C Major
E| --0---0-----2---2-----0---0---
B| --0---0-----3---3-----1---1---
G| --0---0-----2---2-----0---0---
D| --2---2-----0---0-----2---2---
A| --2---2---------------3---3---
E| --0---0-----------------------
5. E Minor, A Minor, G Major, C Major
E| --0---0-----0---0-----3---3-----0---0---
B| --0---0-----1---1-----0---0-----1---1---
G| --0---0-----2---2-----0---0-----0---0---
D| --2---2-----2---2-----0---0-----2---2---
A| --2---2-----0---0-----2---2-----3---3---
E| --0---0---------------3---3-------------
6. E Minor, F Sharp Diminished, B Minor, E Minor
E| --0---0---------------2---2-----0---0---
B| --0---0-----10--10----3---3-----0---0---
G| --0---0-----11--11----4---4-----0---0---
D| --2---2-----10--10----4---4-----2---2---
A| --2---2-----9---9-----2---2-----2---2---
E| --0---0-------------------------0---0---
7. C Major, D Major, E Minor
E| --0---0-----2---2-----0---0---
B| --1---1-----3---3-----0---0---
G| --0---0-----2---2-----0---0---
D| --2---2-----0---0-----2---2---
A| --3---3---------------2---2---
E| ----------------------0---0---
8. E Minor, C Major, G Major, D Major
E| --0---0-----0---0-----3---3-----2---2---
B| --0---0-----1---1-----0---0-----3---3---
G| --0---0-----0---0-----0---0-----2---2---
D| --2---2-----2---2-----0---0-----0---0---
A| --2---2-----3---3-----2---2-------------
E| --0---0---------------3---3-------------
9. E Minor, C Major, E Minor, C Major
E| --0---0-----0---0-----0---0-----0---0---
B| --0---0-----1---1-----0---0-----1---1---
G| --0---0-----0---0-----0---0-----0---0---
D| --2---2-----2---2-----2---2-----2---2---
A| --2---2-----3---3-----2---2-----3---3---
E| --0---0---------------0---0-------------
10. E Minor, B Minor, E Minor, A Minor
E| --0---0-----2---2-----0---0-----0---0---
B| --0---0-----3---3-----0---0-----1---1---
G| --0---0-----4---4-----0---0-----2---2---
D| --2---2-----4---4-----2---2-----2---2---
A| --2---2-----2---2-----2---2-----0---0---
E| --0---0---------------0---0-------------
11. E Minor, G Major, D Major, E Minor
E| --0---0-----3---3-----2---2-----0---0---
B| --0---0-----0---0-----3---3-----0---0---
G| --0---0-----0---0-----2---2-----0---0---
D| --2---2-----0---0-----0---0-----2---2---
A| --2---2-----2---2---------------2---2---
E| --0---0-----3---3---------------0---0---
12. E Minor, C Major, G Major, A Minor
E| --0---0-----0---0-----3---3-----0---0---
B| --0---0-----1---1-----0---0-----1---1---
G| --0---0-----0---0-----0---0-----2---2---
D| --2---2-----2---2-----0---0-----2---2---
A| --2---2-----3---3-----2---2-----0---0---
E| --0---0---------------3---3-------------
