Ukulele · minor
E♭m Chord on Ukulele
Eb Minor is Eb, Gb, Bb — the 1-b3-5 pattern of a minor chord. There are 2 ways to play it on ukulele, ranked below from easiest to hardest.
There is no open Ebm shape on ukulele — every version sits up the neck. The one marked “Am Shape (movable) (6th fret)” below is the friendliest grip, so start there.
Start here — Am Shape (movable) (6th fret)
Sits at fret 6 — tighter and brighter than the low shapes, and high enough to keep out of the way of anyone playing the open version underneath.
Every way 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.
Am Shape (movable) (6th fret) Way 1 of 2
Am Shape (movable) (6th fret)
Easiest here· intermediate· the standard shape
Sits at fret 6 — tighter and brighter than the low shapes, and high enough to keep out of the way of anyone playing the open version underneath.
Gm Shape (movable) (8th fret) Way 2 of 2
Gm Shape (movable) (8th fret)
intermediate
Sits at fret 8 — 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
Ebm 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 ukulele.
Ebm on Ukulele — questions people ask
What is the easiest way to play Ebm on ukulele?
“Am Shape (movable) (6th fret)” — which we rate intermediate — is the easiest Ebm shape on ukulele. Sits at fret 6 — tighter and brighter than the low shapes, and high enough to keep out of the way of anyone playing the open version underneath. There is no open Ebm on ukulele, so a barre is unavoidable; this is the least demanding one.
What notes are in the Eb Minor chord?
Eb Minor is Eb, Gb, Bb — the 1-b3-5 interval pattern of a minor 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 Ebm on ukulele?
This page has 2 Ebm voicings for ukulele, ranked from easiest to hardest: Am Shape (movable) (6th fret), Gm Shape (movable) (8th fret). They all sound like Ebm; the differences are how hard they are to hold and how high they sit.
What can I play instead of Ebm?
The nearest stand-ins on ukulele that keep the same root are Eb5, Ebsus4, Ebsus2. 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 Ebm on other instruments?
Yes. Ebm is the same set of notes everywhere; only the fingering changes. This site has diagrams and audio for it on guitar, piano, bass, mandolin, banjo.
Learn the theory behind Ebm
The shape gets your fingers there. These explain why it sounds the way it does.
Major and Minor Scales — Built from Intervals, Felt in Songs
The flat third is the whole difference between this chord and its major twin.
5 min read
Key Signatures: Read Any Key in Two Seconds
Which keys this chord belongs to, and how to read the sharps and flats.
6 min read
Chord Progressions Explained
Minor chords rarely travel alone. Here is the company they keep.
7 min read