Modal RunsEm Chord (Minor)
The minor triad flips one note from major — the 3rd drops a semitone — and the whole mood turns. The notes of Em are E, G, B.
It is the default "sad" or "serious" chord: minor-key ballads, moody verses, most of the emotional weight in rock and pop.
Em voicings on guitar
Every playable, root-in-the-bass grip standard tuning offers, computed from the chord’s own formula — not a fixed shape library.
Compare it directly against the major triad on the same root; that single semitone is the entire difference between the two moods.
Formula and intervals
R - b3 - 5 — 3 notes.
Scales that fit Em
Every scale below contains all of this chord’s notes — safe territory to improvise in over it.
Also compatible: Minor Pentatonic, Blues, Major Blues, Harmonic Minor.