Em9 Chord on Guitar

1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.

Em9 is a minor ninth chord made of 5 notes: E, G, B, D, F♯. It sounds lush and smooth, and you hear it in neo-soul, R&B and jazz ballads. It is the i chord of E minor and turns up in 5 other keys.

The library above opens on Em9 with 14 shapes up and down the neck. Tap a shape to hear it, or play it one string at a time.

Notes in Em9

Note	Degree	Interval from E	Semitones
E	1	root	0
G	♭3	minor third	3
B	5	perfect fifth	7
D	♭7	minor seventh	10
F♯	9	major ninth	14

Formula: 1 – ♭3 – 5 – ♭7 – 9. On guitar the 5th is often left out of the bigger shapes without changing the chord.

How to play Em9

Open positionBeginner020002

Open positionBeginner024030

Open positionBeginnerxx2032

Fret 3Beginner054003

Fret 5Easyx75777

Fret 5Beginner050077

Open position (root on the 6th string), step by step

1st finger (index): 5th string, 2nd fret (B, the fifth).
2nd finger (middle): 1st string, 2nd fret (F♯, the ninth).
Let the 6th string, 4th string, 3rd string, 2nd string ring open (E, D, G, B).
Strum from the 6th string across all six strings.

Tips

The open position shape is the one to learn first. Once it is easy, try the shape at the 5th fret (x75777): the same chord, higher and brighter, handy when the chords before and after it sit up the neck.

Keys and progressions with Em9

Em9 belongs to 6 keys: iii in C major, ii in D major, vi in G major, i in E minor, v in A minor, iv in B minor. In E minor, try i–VI–III–VII: Em9 – C – G – D.