Every basic major or minor chord consists of 3 notes – root, third and fifth. The chord carries the its root note, but the root is not always the lowest note, because each chord has chord inversions. Considering that the guitar chords we’re talking about consist of only 3 notes, we have 2 chord inversions as a whole or 3 different ways to play each chord. Now, what makes the major and minor chords essentially different may be the third. You have probably heard the terms “minor third” and “major third”. Basically said a small third (used for building minor chords) is definitely an interval between the root and also the third that equals to a few semitones (or 3 frets on the guitar), while the major third (useful for building minor chords) equals to 4 semitones (or 4 frets). Your fifth is the same for both types and it equals to an interval of 7 semitones from the root.

So, if you wish to build a chord, first select which note you want take as root and where are you want to position it associated with the other two notes. Let’s illustrate this with several examples that will hopefully help you view the music theory discussed above.

We will take the note A being a root, build a minor chord after which all of its inversions. To begin with let’s determine which notes we need in order to build the chord. Since we are going to build a minor chord, we will need the minor third and also the fifth. The minor third from A is C (the length between A and C is 3 frets) and also the fifth is E (the length between A and E is 7 frets). Great, now that we know the notes, we can build the actual chords.

Example 1 – A Minor Chord & Inversions

A in root First Inversion Second Inversion A in root, octave up
E||————–|————–|————–|–0———||
B||————–|————–|–1———–|–1———||
G||————–|–2———–|–2———–|–2———||
D||–2———–|–2———–|–2———–|————||
A||–3———–|–3———–|————–|————||
E||–5———–|————–|————–|————||

A-C-E C-E-A E-A-C A-C-E

What if we want to build the major ones? Just use a significant third – that’s C sharp (C#)

Example 2 – A significant Chord & Inversions

A in root First Inversion Second Inversion A in root, octave up
E||————–|————–|————–|–0———||
B||————–|————–|–2———–|–2———||
G||————–|–2———–|–2———–|–2———||
D||–2———–|–2———–|–2———–|————||
A||–4———–|–4———–|————–|————||
E||–5———–|————–|————–|————||

A-C#-E C#-E-A E-A-C# A-C#-E

Pretty clear, isn’t it? Using this principle, you are able to build basic guitar chords literally anywhere on the fretboard. Just remember to practice these examples changing the basis note and the inversion randomly, so that you learn them well. For instance, instead of saying “I want to play all B Minor Chords” and playing all of the inversions one after another, tell yourself: “I want to take part in the second inversion of B Minor, after that I want to play D# Minor in root position” etc. and you may see that you will quickly learn all guitar chords.

Just thought you may well be interested in reading this guide: all guitar chords and learning guitar chords.

50 Basic Beginner Guitar Chords

Hello fellow guitarist!  On this page, you will find 50 easy beginner guitar chords that you can learn how to play right now.  These are all fairly basic chords that you should not have any trouble learning.  There are some that are a bit more challenging than others, but all are well within reach with just a bit of practice and patience.

Once you familiarize yourself with these beginner guitar chords, head on over to our easy acoustic guitar songs section and put these chords into practice right away.  There you will find lots of carefully selected guitar song lessons complete with links to chords, tabs, lyrics and video tutorials. Enjoy!

Easy Guitar Chord 1

C Major

The C Major Chord is one of the easier beginner acoustic guitar chords to learn and play. The C Major Chord is found in the C Major Scale: C D E F G A B C. It is made up of the 1, 3 and 5 of this scale. Meaning the notes C, E and G…

Follow this link for the full lesson on C Major

Easy Guitar Chord 2

Cmaj7

The C Major 7 Chord is found by locating the 1, 3 , 5  and 7 positions (C, E, G and B) of the C Major Scale: C D E F G A B C.  You are basically playing a C Major Chord and simply lifting your first finger off the C Note of the 2nd string first fret…

Follow this link for the full lesson on C Major 7

Easy Guitar Chord 3

C7

The C7 Chord can be found by  first locating the 1, 3 and 5 positions (C, E and G) of the  C Major Scale: C D E F G A B C, and then adding a flat 7 note. To locate the flat 7 note, we first find the 7th note of the C Major scale (B) and then go back a 1/2 step to the BFlat…

Follow this link for the full lesson on C7

Easy Guitar Chord 4

Csus2

The C Suspended 2 Chord is found in the C Major Scale: C D E F G A B C. It is made up of the 1, 2, and 5 of the C Major scale. Meaning the notes C, D and G.

Follow this link for the full lesson on Csus2

Easy Guitar Chord 5

Csus4

The Csus4 Chord is a fairly easy guitar chord to play. Just like the C Major Chord, this chord is also found in the C Major Scale: C D E F G A B C. It is made up of the 1, 4 and 5 of the C Major scale. Meaning the notes C, F and G….

Follow this link for the full lesson on playing the Csus4 Guitar Chord

Easy Guitar Chord 6

Cadd9

The C Add 9 Chord is found by locating the 1 ,3, 5, and 9 (C, E, G and D) of the C Major Scale: C D E F G A B C..

Follow this link for the full lesson on playing the Cadd9 Guitar Chord

Easy Guitar Chord 7

D Major

The D Major Guitar Chord is found in the D Major Scale: D E F# G A B C# D. It is made up of the 1(root note), 3 and 5 positions of this scale. Meaning the notes D, F# and A. Now to add more depth to the sound of the chord you add another D….

Follow this link for the full lesson on D Major

Easy Guitar Chord 8

Dmaj7

The D Major 7th Chord is found by locating the 1, 3 , 5 and 7 positions (D, F#, A and C#) of the D Major Scale: D E  F# G  A  B  C# D….

Follow this link for the full lesson on Dmaj7

Easy Guitar Chord 9

D Minor

The D Minor Chord (also known as Dm) is found by locating the 1, b3 and 5 steps of the  D Major Scale: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, or the notes D, F and A.  The “b3″ symbol translates to “Flattened 3rd” , which means we simply lower the 3rd step of the D Major Scale (F#) a 1/2 step to an “F”…

Follow this link for the full lesson on D Minor

Easy Guitar Chord 10

Dm6

The D Minor 6 Chord (also known as Dm6, D Minor 6th) is found by locating the 1, b3, 5 and 6 steps of the  D Major Scale: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, or the notes D, F, A and B.  The “b3″ symbol translates to “Flattened 3rd” , which means we simply lower the 3rd step of the D Major Scale (F#) a 1/2 step to an “F”….

Follow this link for the full lesson on Dm6

Easy Guitar Chord 11

Dm7

The D Minor 7 Chord (also known as Dm7,D Minor 7th) is found by locating the 1, b3, 5, b7 steps of the  D Major Scale: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, or the notes D, F, A and C.  The “b3″ symbol translates to “Flattened 3rd” , which means we simply lower the 3rd step of the D Major Scale (F#) a 1/2 step to an “F”. The “b7″ symbol translates to “Flattened 7th” , which means we simply lower the 7th step of the D Major Scale (C#) a 1/2 step to a “C”…

Follow this link for the full lesson on Dm7

Easy Guitar Chord 12

Dm11

The D Minor 11 Chord  is found by locating the 1, b3, 5 , b7, 9 ,11 steps of the  D Major Scale: D E F# G A B C# , or the notes D, F, A, C, E and G.  The “b3″ symbol translates to “Flattened 3rd” , which means we simply lower the 3rd step of the D Major Scale (F#) a 1/2 step to a “F”. The “b7″ symbol translates to “Flattened 7th” , which means we simply lower the 7th step of the D Major Scale (C#) a 1/2 step to a “C”…

Follow this link for the full lesson on Dm11

Easy Guitar Chord 13

D6

The D6 Guitar Chord is found in the D Major Scale: D E F# G A B C# D. It is made up of the 1, 3, 5 and 6 positions of this scale, or  the notes D, F# and A and B…

Follow this link for the full lesson on D6

Easy Guitar Chord 14

D7

The D7 Chord is found by first locating the 1, 3 and 5  positions (D, F# and A) of the D Major Scale: D E F# G A B C# D, and then adding a flat 7 note. To locate the flat 7 note, we first find the 7th note of the D Major scale (C#) and then go back a 1/2 step to the C…

Follow this link for the full lesson on D7

Easy Guitar Chord 15

D7sus4

The D7sus4 guitar Chord is an easy one to play and is found by  locating the 1, 4, 5  and b7 positions (D, G, A and C) of the D Major Scale: D E F# G A B C# D.  The “b7″ symbol translates to a “flattened 7th”.  This means that we find the 7th position of the D Major scale, “C#”, and we flatten it by a 1/2 step to a “C”…

Follow this link for the full lesson on D7sus4

Easy Guitar Chord 16

Dsus2

The Dsus2 Guitar Chord is found by locating the 1, 2 and 5 positions (D, E and A) of the D Major Scale: D, E, F#, G, A, B, and C#…..

Follow this link for the full lesson on Dsus2

Easy Guitar Chord 17

Dsus4

The Dsus4 Guitar Chord is found by locating the 1, 4 and 5 positions (D, G and A) of the D Major Scale: D E F# G A B C#…

Follow this link for the full lesson on Dsus4

Easy Guitar Chord 18

E Major

The E Major Guitar Chord is found in the E Major Scale: E F# G# A B C# D# E. It is made up of the 1 , 3 and 5 of this scale. Meaning the notes E, G# and B…

Follow this link for the full lesson on E Major

Easy Guitar Chord 19

E Minor

The E Minor Chord (also known as Em) is found by locating the 1, b3 and 5 steps of the  E Major Scale: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, and D#, or the notes E, G and B.  The “b3″ symbol translates to “Flattened 3rd” , which means we simply lower the 3rd step of the E Major Scale (G#) a 1/2 step to an “G”…

Follow this link for the full lesson on E Minor

Easy Guitar Chord 20

Emaj7

The E Major 7th Chord is found by locating the 1, 3 , 5 and 7 positions (E, G#, B and D#) of the E Major Scale: E F# G# A B C# D# E. The chord diagram chart below demonstrates how to play the EMaj7 Chord…

Follow this link for the full lesson on Emaj7

Easy Guitar Chord 21

E6

Learn how to play the E6 (also known as E Major Sixth, EMaj6, E Major 6th) chord, with this free guitar lesson. The E6 Chord is found in the E Major Scale: E F# G# A B C# D# E. It is made up of the 1 , 3, 5 and 6 of this scale. Meaning the notes E, G#, B and C#…

Follow this link for the full lesson on E6

Easy Guitar Chord 22

E7

The E7 Chord is found by first locating the 1, 3 and 5 (E, G# and B) of the E Major Scale: E  F# G# A B C# D# E, and then adding a flat 7 note. To locate the flat 7 note, we first find the 7th note of the E Major scale (D#) and then go back a 1/2 step to the D…

Follow this link for the full lesson on E7

Easy Guitar Chord 23

E9

The E9 Chord (also known as E Dominant 9th, E dominant Nine, E dominant 9) is found by locating the 1, 3, 5, b7 and 9 steps (E, G#, B, D and F# ) of the E Major Scale: E  F# G# A B C# D# E. The “b7″ symbol translates to a “Flattened 7th” which means we take the 7th position of the E Major scale and flatten it by a 1/2 step which gives us a “D” …

Follow this link for the full lesson on E9

Easy Guitar Chord 24

E13

The E13 Chord is found by locating the 1, 3 , 5, b7, 9 and 13 positions (E, G#, B, D, F# and C#) of the E Major Scale: E  F# G# A B C# D# E. The chord chart below demonstrates how to play the E13 Chord….

Follow this link for the full lesson on E13

Easy Guitar Chord 25

Em6

The E Minor 6 Chord  is found by locating the 1, b3, 5 , 6 steps of the  E Major Scale: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, or the notes E, G, B and C#..  The “b3″ symbol translates to “Flattened 3rd” , which means we simply lower the 3rd step of the E Major Scale (G#) a 1/2 step to a “G”…

Follow this link for the full lesson on Em6

Easy Guitar Chord 26

Em7

The E Minor 7 Chord  is found by locating the 1, b3, 5 , b7 steps of the  E Major Scale: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, or the notes E, G, B and D..  The “b3″ symbol translates to “Flattened 3rd” , which means we simply lower the 3rd step of the E Major Scale (G#) a 1/2 step to a “G”. The “b7? symbol translates to “Flattened 7th” , which means we simply lower the 7th step of the E Major Scale (D#) a 1/2 step to a “D”….

Follow this link for the full lesson on Em7

Easy Guitar Chord 27

Em9

The E Minor 9 Chord  is found by locating the 1, b3, 5 , b7, 9  steps of the  E Major Scale: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, or the notes E, G, B , D and  F#..  The “b3″ symbol translates to “Flattened 3rd” , which means we simply lower the 3rd step of the E Major Scale (G#) a 1/2 step to a “G”. The “b7? symbol translates to “Flattened 7th” , which means we simply lower the 7th step of the E Major Scale (D#) a 1/2 step to a “D”…

Follow this link for the full lesson on Em9

Easy Guitar Chord 28

Esus4

The Esus4 guitar chord (also known as E Suspended 4) is found in the E Major Scale: E  F# G# A  B  C# D# E. It is made up of the 1 , 4 and 5  of this scale. Meaning the notes E, A and B…

Follow this link for the full lesson on Esus4

Easy Guitar Chord 29

F Major

The F Chord is found in the F Major Scale.  The notes of the F Major Scale are: F G A Bb C D E F.  Now to find the F Major Chord, we would locate the 1, 3 and 5 (F, A and C) of the F Major Scale…

Follow this link for the full lesson on F major

Easy Guitar Chord 30

Fmaj7

The F Major 7th Chord is found by locating the 1, 3 , 5 and 7 positions (F, A, C and E) of the F Major Scale: F G A Bb C D E F.  The chord diagram chart below demonstrates how to play the FMaj7 Chord…

Follow this link for the full lesson on Fmaj7

Easy Guitar Chord 31

F7

If you are having difficulty playing the F7 guitar chord (a.k.a, F Dominant 7,f dominant 7th ,f 7th) then you are in luck.  Today you will learn how to play several different, easy  F7 guitar chord shapes…

Follow this link for the full lesson on F7

Easy Guitar Chord 32

Fm6

This chord is found by locating the 1,(b3), 5 and 6 positions of the F Major Scale: F, G, A, Bflat, C, D, E .  That little “b3″ simply means a flattened third.  You are taking the 3 step in the F Major scale (A) and lowering it by a half step to an Ab/G#…

Follow this link for the full lesson on Fm6

Easy Guitar Chord 33

G Major

The G Major Guitar Chord is found in the G Major Scale: G A B C D E F# G. It is made up of the 1, 3 and 5 of this scale. Meaning the notes G, B and D….

Follow this link for the full lesson on G Major

Easy Guitar Chord 34

G6

The G6 Guitar Chord  is found in the G Major Scale: G A B C D E F# G. It is made up of the 1, 3, 5 and 6 of this scale. Meaning the notes G, B, D and E…

Follow this link for the full lesson on G6

Easy Guitar Chord 35

G7

The G7 Guitar Chord (also known as a Dominant G 7th Chord)  is found in the G Major Scale: G A B C D E F# G. It is made up of the 1, 3, 5 and 7 of this scale. Meaning the notes G, B, D and F. This chord is just like the G Major  only you are adding the 7th note from the G Major scale to the chord…

Follow this link for the full lesson on G7

Easy Guitar Chord 36

GAdd4

The Gadd4 Guitar Chord is found in the G Major Scale: G A B C D E F# G. It is made up of the 1, 3, 4 and 5 of this scale. Meaning the notes G, B,C, and D. This is  a very easy chord to finger.  If you know how to play the open G Major chord, then you are almost there…

Follow this link for the full lesson on Gadd4

Easy Guitar Chord 37

A Major

The A Major Chord is found in the A Major Scale: A B C# D E F# G# A. It is made up of the 1 , 3 and 5 positions of this scale. In other words, the notes A,C# and E…

Follow this link for the full lesson on A Major

Easy Guitar Chord 38

A Minor

The A Minor Chord (also known as Am) is found by locating the 1, b3 and 5 steps of the  A Major Scale: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, or the notes A, C and E.  The “b3? symbol translates to “Flattened 3rd” , which means we simply lower the 3rd step of the A Major Scale (C#) a 1/2 step to a “C”…

Follow this link for the full lesson on A Minor

Easy Guitar Chord 39

A6/9

The A6/9 Guitar Chord is found by locating the 1, 3 , 5, 6 and 9 positions (A, C#, E , F# and B) of the A Major Scale: A B C# D E F# G# A.  You can see exactly how to finger this chord by referring to the chord chart on the page that follows…

Follow this link for the full lesson on A6/9

Easy Guitar Chord 40

A7

The A7 Chord is found by first locating the 1, 3 and 5 (A, C# and E) of the A Major Scale: A B C# D E F# G# A, and then adding a flat 7 note. To locate the flat 7 note, we first find the 7th note of the A Major scale (G#) and then go back a 1/2 step to the G…

Follow this link for the full lesson on A7

Easy Guitar Chord 41

Amaj7

The A Major 7th Chord is found by locating the 1, 3 , 5 and 7 positions (A, C#, E and G#) of the A Major Scale: A B C# D E F# G# A. The chord diagram chart below demonstrates how to play the AMaj7 Chord…

Follow this link for the full lesson on Amaj7

Easy Guitar Chord 42

Am7

The A Minor 7 Chord  is found by locating the 1, b3, 5 , b7 steps of the  A Major Scale: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, or the notes A, C, E and G.  The “b3″ symbol translates to “Flattened 3rd” , which means we simply lower the 3rd step of the A Major Scale (C#) a 1/2 step to a “C”. The “b7″ symbol translates to “Flattened 7th” , which means we simply lower the 7th step of the A Major Scale (G#) a 1/2 step to a “G”….

Follow this link for the full lesson on Am7

Easy Guitar Chord 43

Am9

The A Minor 9  Chord  is found by locating the 1, b3, 5 , b7, 9  steps of the  A Major Scale: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G# , or the notes A, C, E, G,  and B.  The “b3″ symbol translates to “Flattened 3rd” , which means we simply lower the 3rd step of the A Major Scale (C#) a 1/2 step to a “C”. The “b7″ symbol translates to “Flattened 7th” , which means we simply lower the 7th step of the A Major Scale (G#) a 1/2 step to a “G”…

Follow this link for the full lesson on Am9

Easy Guitar Chord 44

Am11

The A Minor 11 Chord  is found by locating the 1, b3, 5 , b7, 9 ,11 steps of the  A Major Scale: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G# , or the notes A, C, E, G, B and D.  The “b3″ symbol translates to “Flattened 3rd” , which means we simply lower the 3rd step of the A Major Scale (C#) a 1/2 step to a “C”. The “b7″ symbol translates to “Flattened 7th” , which means we simply lower the 7th step of the A Major Scale (G#) a 1/2 step to a “G”…

Follow this link for the full lesson on Am11

Easy Guitar Chord 45

Asus2

The Asus2 (also known as A suspened 2) is found by locating the 1, 2 and 5 positions (A, B and E) of the A Major Scale: A B C# D E F# G# A…

Follow this link for the full lesson on Asus2

Easy Guitar Chord 46

Asus4

The Asus4 (A sus 4, A suspended 4) Guitar Chord is definitely one of the easier basic beginner chords to learn how to play. The ASuS4 Chord is found by locating the 1, 4 and 5 (A, D and E) of the A Major Scale: A B C# D E F# G# A…

Follow this link for the full lesson on Asus4

Easy Guitar Chord 47

A7sus4

The A7sus4 Chord is found by first locating the 1, 4, 5,b7 (A, D,E and G) of the A Major Scale: A B C# D E F# G# A.  The b7, or “Flattened 7th” is just the seventh note of the A Major scale flattened a half  step or semitone to the “G” note…

Follow this link for the full lesson on A7sus4

Easy Guitar Chord 48

A13

The A13 chord is found by locating the 1, 3, 5, b7, 9 and 13 positions (A, C#, E, G, B and F#) of the A Major Scale: A B C# D E F# G# A. The chord chart below demonstrates how to play the A13 Chord…

Follow this link for the full lesson on A13

Easy Guitar Chord 49

Bm

The B Minor Chord  is found by locating the 1, b3 and 5 steps of the  B Major Scale: B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#, or the notes B, D and F#.  The “b3″ symbol translates to “Flattened 3rd” , which means we simply lower the 3rd step of the B Major Scale (D#) a 1/2 step to a “D”.

Follow this link for the full lesson on B Minor

Easy Guitar Chord 50

Bm7

The B Minor 7 Chord  is found by locating the 1, b3, 5 , b7 steps of the  B Major Scale: B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#, or the notes B, D, F# and A.  The “b3? symbol translates to “Flattened 3rd” , which means we simply lower the 3rd step of the B Major Scale (D#) a 1/2 step to a “D”. The “b7? symbol translates to “Flattened 7th” , which means we simply lower the 7th step of the B Major Scale (A#) a 1/2 step to a “A”…

Follow this link for the full lesson on B Minor

Learn how to Play the Fmaj7 Guitar Chord

The F Major 7 guitar chord (also known as F Major Seventh, FMaj7 or F Major 7th), like the other Major Seventh Chords,  is a beautiful dreamy sounding chord.  It is also quite easy to play.

The F Major 7th Chord is found by locating the 1, 3 , 5 and 7 positions (F, A, C and E) of the F Major Scale: F G A Bb C D E F.  The chord diagram chart below demonstrates how to play the FMaj7 Chord.

Here is a key that will help you read the chart:

Chord Playing Tips: An easy way to remember how to play this guitar chord is by first starting at the C Major Chord.  Then all you do is move your second and third fingers down one string while keeping your first finger on the first fret, second string. Be sure that you are pressing down on the strings hard enough. You should play each string one at a time to make sure you have a nice clean sound. If any of the strings buzz or sound muted, then something is not right.

The video below will further demonstrate how to correctly play the FMaj7 Chord.

This video was created by one of my favorite guitar teachers on YouTube, Justin Sandercoe. Justin is an excellent teacher. In this video he not only explains the proper way to play the Fmaj7 chord, but he also provides a few other great tips on this chords usage.

I highly recommend you visit Justin’s YouTube Profile for more awesome video lessons like the one below:

===>  Click here to visit Justin’s YouTube Profile.

Be sure to also check out his website by following the link below.  On Justin’s site you can learn more about him as well as find more great lessons!

===> Click here to visit his site

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ4ITPLIzBc

Basic Beginner Guitar Chord Lesson -- Learn To Play E7

The E7 Chord (also known as a Dominant E 7th Chord) is often referred to as a Blues chord. Once you learn to play it, you will understand why. It just has a real bluesy sound to it. It is definitely one of the easiest beginner chords to learn how to play. There are a several different ways to play it, but I will demonstrate the easiest ways in the following post.

The E7 Chord is found by first locating the 1, 3 and 5 (E, G# and B) of the E Major Scale: E  F# G# A B C# D# E, and then adding a flat 7 note. To locate the flat 7 note, we first find the 7th note of the E Major scale (D#) and then go back a 1/2 step to the D.

So the notes of the E7 Chord are: E  G# B D

Here is a key that will help you read the chart:

Everything on the above chart should be self explanatory, except for the last three in the third column. They may need a bit of explaining. The O, or open symbol, simply means that you do not press down on any notes on that string. The X means you do not strum that particular string. The Barre symbol means you need to barre that particular fret. When you barre a fret you are pressing down on multiple strings at the same time with one finger.

Chord Playing Tip: Be sure that you are pressing down on the string hard enough. You should play each string one at a time to make sure you have a nice clean sound. If any of the strings buzz or sound muted, then something is not right.

E7 Chord Video

The video below will further demonstrate how to correctly play the E7 Chord.  It also demonstrates how to play some variations of this chord

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqw7vlglVWc

Easy Beginner Guitar Chord -- Learn to Play E Minor

The E Minor Chord (also known as Em) is found by locating the 1, b3 and 5 steps of the  E Major Scale: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, and D#, or the notes E, G and B.  The “b3″ symbol translates to “Flattened 3rd” , which means we simply lower the 3rd step of the E Major Scale (G#) a 1/2 step to an “G”.  The E Minor Chord is one of the easiest chords you will ever learn to play and also one of the most beautiful sounding ones.

E Minor Chord notes: E G B

Here is a key that will help you read the chart:

Everything on the above chart should be self explanatory, except for the last three in the third column. They may need a bit of explaining. The O, or open symbol, simply means that you do not press down on any notes on that string. The X means you do not strum that particular string. The Barre symbol means you need to barre that particular fret. When you barre a fret you are pressing down on multiple strings at the same time with one finger.

Just like all other chords, make certain that you are pushing your fingers down firmly on the strings. Play each string one at a time to see if the strings are producing a clean sound.

E Minor Guitar Chord Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIW0CywizI0