How to Turn a Basic E Minor Chord Into a Killer Riff
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Let’s take your E minor chord from bland strumming to actual riffing. I’ll show you how to go from this campfire sound to something way more interesting - whether you're on acoustic or electric.
Now joining me in this video is my brother Eric - and trust me, if he can follow along, so can you.
We’ll start with the basic E minor shape. Middle finger on the second fret of the A string, ring finger right below on the second fret of the D string. But here's the key - make sure all six strings ring clearly. No dead notes, no buzzing. That means curving those fingers properly and adjusting your thumb placement if necessary. Try different thumb positions until all the strings come through cleanly.
Once you've got that, most people just strum it. But I want you to go beyond that and start making riffs out of the chord. When we play melody ideas on the low strings, it's a riff. When it’s high up - it's a lick. Simple as that.
Here's the fun part - we're going to break the chord momentarily and play the open A string. Wait, didn’t we just fret that string? Yep. That’s the point. We’re adding movement by temporarily lifting that finger and creating what we could call a passing note or an extension.
It sounds awesome. Play the open A string, then hammer on or pick the second fret again. You can either pick both notes or hammer on for more speed. I personally just pick once and let the hammer-on do the rest.
If you're already comfy with hammer-ons, this will come naturally. If not, pause the video, try a few times, and you'll get it.
Now, for the advanced version (not for Eric), you can reach for the third fret on the low E string - that’s the minor third. Technically, it's the same note as the open G string, but playing it down there adds that sweet descending bass movement before returning to the root.
To recap the whole riff: - Start with your E minor chord - Play low E string (open), jump to D string, then A string - Hammer-on lick on the A string - Hit the D string again - Repeat - Then move down to that low G note on the E string before returning to open E
It sounds like this: [Insert audio vibe here in your head]
This was a super fun one to make. Thanks for jamming along, and let me know how it goes!
Kris