E Minor 9 (Em9) Chord Guitar

A ringing open minor 9th — lush and resonant.

A minor 9th (1-♭3-5-♭7-9) voiced low and open.
Rings across the strings for a lush, resonant Em.
Smooth minor-7th warmth plus neo-soul 9th colour.
One of the fullest-sounding minor 9ths on guitar.

Root9th3rd5th7th

Root

EBass6th string

FretOpen

Finger—

5th

A5th string

Fret2

Finger2 middle

7th

D4th string

FretOpen

Finger—

3rd

G3rd string

FretOpen

Finger—

7th

B2nd string

Fret3

Finger3 ring

9th

e1st string

Fret2

Finger1 index

NotesE – B – D – G – F#

Formula1 – ♭3 – 5 – ♭7 – 9

Voicing020032

TonesE×1·G×1·B×1·D×2·F#×1

Hear It For Yourself

This chord sounds even better than it looks.

Load E Minor 9 (Em9) onto an interactive fretboard, hear every note, and build it into a progression.

Play Em9 in the Studio →

Em9 is a premium chord — opening it in the Studio prompts a subscription to unlock full access.

Questions about E Minor 9 (Em9)

What notes are in a E Minor 9 (Em9) chord?

A E Minor 9 (Em9) chord contains the notes E, B, D, G, F#. It is built from the minor 9th formula 1 - ♭3 - 5 - ♭7 - 9, with E as the root.

Is Em9 hard to play?

Not particularly — it's close to an open Em7 shape with the 9th added, and it uses several open strings, so it rings easily without a barre. It's a great first minor 9th chord because you can hear the full, lush quality of the voicing without much left-hand effort.

Embed this chord

Add the E Minor 9 (Em9) diagram to your own site — paste this snippet where you want it to appear.

E Minor 9 (Em9) Chord Guitar

This chord sounds even better than it looks.

Questions about E Minor 9 (Em9)

What notes are in a E Minor 9 (Em9) chord?

Is Em9 hard to play?

Related chords

Embed this chord