1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.
Em/D means “Em with D in the bass”: play a E minor chord and make D the lowest note. D is not one of the chord’s own notes, so the bass adds colour as well as moving the bass line.
The notes, low to high, are D, E, G, B. The library above opens on Em/D with 14 shapes that keep D at the bottom; tap one to hear it.
| Note | Degree | Interval from E | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| D | bass | minor seventh (below) | 10 |
| E | 1 | root | 0 |
| G | ♭3 | minor third | 3 |
| B | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
Formula: 1 – ♭3 – 5. On guitar the 5th is often left out of the bigger shapes without changing the chord.
xx0000xx0030x55400x55757xx0453(10)(10)(12)(12)(12)(12)D is the flat seventh of Em, so the full set of notes is Em7/D (minor seventh with D in the bass). Writing it as Em/D tells you to keep the Em shape and just change the bass.
In A major, E – Em/D – C♯m walks the bass down step by step (E, D, C♯) while the chords on top change. Played the other way, C♯m – Em/D – E, the bass climbs.
When a chord sheet writes Em/D, play the chord on top and let D be the lowest string you strum; if you play with a bass player, the bass plays D.
D, E, G, B: the root, minor third, fifth, with D added in the bass.
Open position: xx0000 (low string first), rated Beginner.
No. The easiest shape is rated Beginner and needs 0 fingers.