guitarchords

Scale degree map

Every chord in a key has a job: it feels like home, it moves away, or it builds tension that wants to resolve. Tap a chord to hear it and see where it wants to go.

  • Homei ♭IIIStable. Phrases end here.
  • Awayii° iv ♭VIMoves off home without urgency.
  • Tensionv ♭VIIPulls back toward i.

The seven chords of E minor

tap to hear
Eminor
common
occasional
common
where i goes · thicker = stronger pullchords that lead into i

Home chord · Tonic

E minor

Dark home — feels dark, grounded, resolved

All Em voicings

Home with minor quality. Post-punk's anchor — the chord everything orbits.

Where it wants to go

Heard in

  • Joy Division — "She's Lost Control"
  • Fontaines DC — "Boys in the Better Land"

Play E minor on guitar

Start with the plain chord, then colour it.
EADGBe2312345
  • ERoot
  • G♭3
  • B5

Colour it

dashed = needs a note from outside E minor
Base
Colour
Richness
Suspension
EmDark, grounded, directIn E minor

Go further in E minor

How phrases end: the moves that create (or deny) resolution.

  • ♭VIIDiEm
    ♭VII→i (Open)The post-punk cadence. Less final than V→i. Feels like returning rather than arriving.
  • ♭VIC♭VIIDiEm
    ♭VI–♭VII–iThe three-chord engine of post-punk. Drama → motion → home.
  • VBiEm
    V→i (Hard)Borrowed V major resolving to i. Classical tension in a minor key. The hard snap-back.
  • ivAmiEm
    iv→i (Plagal minor)Heavy settling. Darker than major plagal. Post-metal / doom territory.