Introduction

E Minor on the piano — Notes: E – G – B — E Minor chord on the piano

The E Minor chord is a three-note chord made up of E, G, and B. It is built from a root, minor third, and perfect fifth.

The E minor piano chord is a minor triad built on E and consists of three notes: E, G, and B. It comes from the E Minor scale (E, F#, G, A, B, C, and D) and is formed using the 1st, 3rd, and 5th scale degrees. The E Minor chord contains one sharp. Like all minor chords, it has a darker, more introspective sound created by the interval structure of a minor third (3 semitones) and a perfect fifth (7 semitones) above the root.

Notes

Notes:E – G – B

How to Play the E Minor

Right Hand (RH)

Place your right hand over the keys with the thumb on the root. Use the fingering: 1 – 3 – 5

Left Hand (LH)

For the left hand, start with your pinky on the root. Use the fingering: 5 – 3 – 1

E Minor Inversions

E Minor — first inversion on the piano — E Minor — first inversion

E Minor — second inversion on the piano — E Minor — second inversion

Position	Notes
Root Position	E4 – G4 – B4
1st Inversion	G4 – B4 – E5
2nd Inversion	B4 – E5 – G5

Key Signature

The key of E Minor has 1 sharp.

F♯

Order of sharps

Sharps are added to a key signature in a fixed order. Each new sharp key adds the next sharp on the list.

F♯C♯G♯D♯A♯E♯B♯

Mnemonic: Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle

Chords in the Key of E Minor

These are the diatonic triads built on each degree of the E minor scale:

C

D

E

F

G

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

A

B

i — E Minor (minor)

Degree	Numeral	Chord	Quality
1	i	E Minor	Minor
2	ii°	F# Diminished	Diminished
3	III	G Major	Major
4	iv	A Minor	Minor
5	v	B Minor	Minor
6	VI	C Major	Major
7	VII	D Major	Major

Related Chords

Parallel Major:E Major

Relative Major:G Major

Dominant (V):B Major

Subdominant (IV):A Major

Theory: Intervals

Formula: R-m3-P5

Intervals: P1-m3-P5

The E Minor is built by stacking intervals from the root note. The formula R-m3-P5 describes the scale degrees used. The intervals P1-m3-P5 show the distance between each note in the chord.

E Minor — Frequently Asked Questions

What notes make up the E Minor chord?

E Minor contains three notes: E (root), G (minor third), and B (perfect fifth). All three are white keys, making E Minor one of the most accessible minor chords on the piano.

What fingering do I use for E Minor?

Right hand: finger 1 on E, finger 3 on G, finger 5 on B. Left hand: finger 5 on E, finger 3 on G, finger 1 on B. Like D Minor, the all-white-key layout is comfortable and symmetrical.

What are the inversions of E Minor?

First inversion (Em/G): G–B–E. Second inversion (Em/B): B–E–G. Em/G is common in pop and rock — it creates a smooth bass movement from G to E, often heard in descending bass line progressions.

What songs use the E Minor chord?

E Minor is ubiquitous in rock and folk. It appears in House of the Rising Sun (Animals), Nothing Else Matters (Metallica), and as the vi chord in G Major — meaning it appears in virtually every G Major song including Let It Be and Country Roads.

What chords pair well with E Minor?

In E Minor: C Major (VI), G Major (III), D Major (VII), B Major (V). Em–C–G–D is one of the most used four-chord sequences in rock. Em–Am–D–G is another classic minor-to-major movement. Em also pairs naturally with Am as the vi and ii chords in G Major.

What is the relationship between E Minor and G Major?

E Minor is the relative minor of G Major — both share the same key signature (one sharp, F#). This means every chord in G Major has a corresponding role in E Minor: G Major becomes the III chord, C Major becomes VI, D Major becomes VII, and Em itself is the tonic (I) chord.

Practice Tips

Compare Em and E Major (E–G–B vs E–G#–B) — G vs G# is the only difference, but the mood shift is dramatic.
Practice Em → C → G → D as a loop — this four-chord progression appears in thousands of rock and pop songs.
Work through Em inversions: E–G–B (root), G–B–E (1st), B–E–G (2nd) — all white keys make this approachable.
Play Em followed immediately by Am — these two chords share no notes but move smoothly in minor key contexts.
Practice the Em–D–C–B progression (descending I–VII–VI–V in E Minor) — a classic melancholic pattern in classical and folk.

Explore More

Minor Chord in Other Keys

C C#Db D D#Eb F F#Gb G G#Ab A A#Bb B Cb

Parent Scale

E Major Scale E Minor Scale

Browse all Minor Chords →All E Chords →Learn about triads →

Related Lessons

Keep going with the Minor chord — these pages cover the underlying theory, the connected reference material, and the practice tools that work with this chord.

E Minor