E Minor Chord on Octave Mandolin
How to play the E Minor chord on Octave Mandolin: fretboard diagrams, finger positions, the notes that build it, and alternate voicings up the neck.
The E Minor chord is a darker, melancholic minor triad that anchors countless songs. It is built from the notes E, G, B. This page shows how to play E Minor on Octave Mandolin with clear fretboard diagrams and suggested finger positions.
The shape nearest the nut leaves the G and E strings open and takes the rest at fret 2. E falls on the D string. It sounds from G2 up to E4. 2 voicings are charted, the highest starting at fret 9.
Octave Mandolin is strung in four courses of two, so each stopped note here sounds as two — which is why the shape rings thicker than the same grip on a single-strung instrument.
Browse alternate voicings to find the one that sits best under your fingers, then compare it with the other chord types built on E or explore the same shape in nearby keys. The diagrams list the notes in each voicing so you can connect the shape to the theory behind it.