Em ukulele chord
Darker and more melancholy than major. A single semitone — the flattened third — makes the whole difference.
E minor · standard GCEA tuning · 3 shapes
How to Play Em on Ukulele
The easiest shape is 0432: G string open · C string 4th fret · E string 3rd fret · A string 2nd fret.
Open position
0 4 3 2
Barre at fret 7
0 7 7 7
Up the neck, fret 4
4 7 7 7
Strings left to right are G, C, E and A, as the ukulele faces you. Numbers are frets; 0 means play the string open. Every shape is worked out from the notes the chord must contain and checked against them before it is published.
Notes in Em
A ukulele has four strings, so a 3-note chord doubles one of its notes on the spare string. Because the G string is tuned high (reentrant tuning), the lowest note you hear is usually on the C or E string, not the G.
Songs and Keys That Use Em
Em belongs to 3 major keys: C major (as the iii chord), D major (as the ii chord) and G major (as the vi chord).
- I – iii – IV – V — a bright, lifting movement
- ii – V – I — the central cadence in jazz
- I – vi – ii – V — the 1950s doo-wop turnaround
Em on Other Instruments
- Guitar: see the Em guitar chord — six strings, so the shapes are different, but the notes are the same.
- Baritone ukulele (DGBE): 2000. A baritone is tuned like the top four strings of a guitar, so guitar shapes carry over and standard-ukulele shapes do not. Tune one with the baritone ukulele tuner.
Related Ukulele Chords
Tune first
A right shape on an out-of-tune ukulele still sounds wrong. Check G, C, E and A in a few seconds.
Open the Ukulele Tuner →