E Chord Guitar Guide

For the E chord guitar fingering shown here, place your index finger on the G string (string 3), fret 1. Place your middle finger on the A string (string 5), fret 2, and your ring finger on the D string (string 4), fret 2. The two fingers at fret 2 sit on neighboring strings; the index stays one fret nearer the nut.

Leave the low E, B and high E strings open. Begin the strum on string 6 and include all six strings. There are no X marks in this example. The open low E is part of the chord, unlike the low E string excluded by the open A reference.

Check the strings from 6 to 1 before strumming. If the B string is muted, look for contact from the index finger on string 3. If the G string is muted, check the adjacent ring finger on string 4. Adjust one fingertip, then pluck the affected string again; a muted string does not automatically mean you need more pressure.

For a fretted note that buzzes, move the fingertip nearer the fret wire toward the guitar body without resting on the wire. Keep the other fingers in place if possible while checking one note. The reference cannot identify a problem with your own instrument or hand position.

Read this E chord guitar diagram with string 6 on the left and string 1 on the right. Circles identify open strings; dot numbers identify fingers. In TAB, the top line is string 1 and the numbers identify frets. The vertical stack represents one chord, not a rhythm.

Read the E chord guitar note list both as chord tones and as sounding strings. E is the root, G sharp is the major third and B is the perfect fifth. The six strings sound E2, B2, E3, G sharp 3, B3 and E4 from low to high in standard tuning.

The repeated E and B notes occupy different strings and octaves. Six sounding strings therefore do not mean six different chord tones. Only string 3 supplies G sharp in this shape; missing that note changes what is actually sounding, even when the bass note remains E.

The synthesized reference plays the pitches stored in the string table. It is a listening comparison, not a guitar recording, microphone tuner or playing assessment. Standard tuning here means E2–A2–D3–G3–B3–E4 before fretting; forming the chord changes three of those open-string pitches.

This E chord guitar exercise uses E major and Em in open position. Start with E and check each string. Keep finger 2 on string 5, fret 2, and finger 3 on string 4, fret 2. Lift finger 1 away from string 3 to form Em, leaving that string completely open.

Check string 3 again after lifting the index finger. It changes from G sharp 3 to G3, one semitone lower. The other five sounding pitches stay the same, and both shapes include strings 6 through 1. Lift the fingertip clear rather than leaving it resting on the string and muting the note.

Reverse the change by placing the index finger back on string 3, fret 1. Try four slow E–Em alternations, with one gentle strum for each chord and a pause whenever needed. This isolates one finger action; it is an original exercise, not a claim that E and Em are freely interchangeable in songs.

Use the E chord guitar string check again if the notes become unclear. The diagrams above show the fixed pair and highlight the finger lifted from E. Hear E → Em plays both reference chords; the checkbox is your own reminder for this visit, without a score or saved practice history.