Guitar · minor ninth
Em9 Chord on Guitar
E Minor 9th is E, G, B, D, F# — the 1-b3-5-b7-9 pattern of a minor ninth chord. There are 2 ways to play it on guitar, ranked below from easiest to hardest.
Good news: Em9 has an open shape on guitar, so you can play it without barring anything. Start there and work up the neck later.
Start here — E Shape Barre (2nd fret)
Open shape — open strings ring right through it and there is nothing to barre. If you only learn one, learn this one.
Easier ways to play it — 2 shapes, easiest first
Same chord in all of them. What changes is how much your hand has to do and where on the neck it sits.
E Shape Barre (2nd fret) Way 1 of 2
E Shape Barre (2nd fret)
Easiest here· advanced· the standard shape
Open shape — open strings ring right through it and there is nothing to barre. If you only learn one, learn this one.
Movable Root-5 Shape (5th fret) Way 2 of 2
Movable Root-5 Shape (5th fret)
advanced
Sits at fret 5 — tighter and brighter than the low shapes, and high enough to keep out of the way of anyone playing the open version underneath.
What beginners get wrong
Moving in and out of it
The shape above: E Shape Barre (2nd fret) — open position, so several strings ring unfretted — barred at fret 2.
Listening: each shape above has its own play button, and each one plays the notes that shape actually produces — not a generic triad.
Em9 on other instruments
Same notes, different hands. Every link below is a real page with diagrams and audio.
Chords next door
Same root, different colour — and all of them playable on guitar.
Em9 on Guitar — questions people ask
What is the easiest way to play Em9 on guitar?
“E Shape Barre (2nd fret)” — which we rate advanced — is the easiest Em9 shape on guitar. Open shape — open strings ring right through it and there is nothing to barre. If you only learn one, learn this one.
What notes are in the E Minor 9th chord?
E Minor 9th is E, G, B, D, F# — the 1-b3-5-b7-9 interval pattern of a minor ninth chord. Every voicing on this page uses those notes and nothing else; they just appear in a different order and octave.
How many ways can you play Em9 on guitar?
This page has 2 Em9 voicings for guitar, ranked from easiest to hardest: E Shape Barre (2nd fret), Movable Root-5 Shape (5th fret). They all sound like Em9; the differences are how hard they are to hold and how high they sit.
What can I play instead of Em9?
The nearest stand-ins on guitar that keep the same root are Esus4, Esus2, E. They keep the root and the fifth and only change what sits in the middle, so most songs still work — but check the swap against the melody, because the note you removed may be the one the tune is singing.
Can I play Em9 on other instruments?
Yes. Em9 is the same set of notes everywhere; only the fingering changes. This site has diagrams and audio for it on piano, ukulele.
Learn the theory behind Em9
The shape gets your fingers there. These explain why it sounds the way it does.
Functional Harmony: Three Roles, One Engine
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Major and Minor Scales — Built from Intervals, Felt in Songs
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