Piano chord
E minor chord
Em is a minor triad: the root E, a minor 3rd up to G and a perfect 5th up to B.
- Symbol
- Em
- Notes
- E – G – B
Play it yourself
Tap E, G and B on the keys below, in any order.
- E
- G
- B
Minor chords sound darker and more serious than major ones. The only difference is the middle note: the third is one half step lower.
Inversions of Em
An inversion keeps the same notes but puts a different one at the bottom. Pianists use them to move between chords with less jumping.
- Root position
E – G – B
- 1st inversion · Em/G
G – B – E
- 2nd inversion · Em/B
B – E – G
Keys with Em
Em occurs naturally in these keys. The Roman numeral shows which step of the scale it is built on.