E Minor CAGED Chord Shapes: All 5 Positions on Guitar
E minor is E, G and B. The CAGED system gives five shapes for it up the neck: the D shape from the 2nd fret, the C shape from the 4th fret, the A shape from the 7th fret, the G shape from the 9th fret and the E shape from the 12th fret. The E shape is also the open Em chord you may already know.
Keys
CAGED Chords — Em
Triads — Em
Root position
First inversion
Second inversion
All inversions
The notes of Em
Em is a minor triad: root, minor third and fifth (1 ♭3 5), which is a minor third (three frets) with a major third (four frets) on top. Every shape below is those three notes, doubled in different octaves.
How the five shapes connect
From the bottom of the neck up, the shapes run D (2), C (4), A (7), G (9) and E (12). Each one starts where the last one's top notes are, so playing them in order moves one chord up the whole fretboard. After the E shape, the D shape comes round again twelve frets higher.
The A shape and G shape share 2 notes (B on the D string at fret 9 and E on the G string at fret 9), which is the hinge between them.
Where the root, E, sits in each shape: D shape: D and B; C shape: A; A shape: A and G; G shape: low E and G; E shape: low E, D and high e. Find that string first and the rest of the shape falls into place around it.
Where Em appears
Em belongs to 8 keys: iii in C major, ii in D major and vi in G major; i in E minor, v in A minor and iv in B minor; i in E harmonic minor and iv in B harmonic minor.
Of those, C major, D major, G major, E minor, A minor and E harmonic minor are keys guitarists play in constantly, because their open strings ring with the scale, so Em turns up often in songs.
Open strings and capo options for Em
Four open strings are part of Em: the low E string (root), the G string (the third), the B string (the fifth) and the high e string (root). Because the root is among them, you can let it drone under any of the shapes.
There's an open Em chord at the nut: the E shape.
With a capo you can also play it as the Dm shape with the capo at fret 2 and the Am shape with the capo at fret 7.
Closely related chords
The closest chords to Em share two of its three notes: its relative major and the chords a fourth and a fifth away, which are its neighbours in E minor.
Em CAGED FAQs
What notes are in a Em chord?
E, G and B: the root, minor third and fifth (1 ♭3 5).
What are the CAGED shapes for E minor?
the D shape from the 2nd fret, the C shape from the 4th fret, the A shape from the 7th fret, the G shape from the 9th fret and the E shape from the 12th fret. D shape is the lowest; the D shape repeats twelve frets higher.
Is there an open Em chord?
Yes. It's the E shape at the nut, the same shape as the E shape on this page twelve frets lower.
Related
Learn more
The CAGED system explained covers how the five shapes are built and linked, and minor CAGED shapes shows how each one changes for minor. The CAGED guitar lessons set out what to learn next, and the CAGED library has every major and minor chord.