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  • You have to be clear if you expect a Hardcore Answer or just "It's not an E minor nor any Triad", – RishiNandha Vanchi Apr 26 '20 at 15:32

11 Answers 11





  • I very much like your final paragraph. Contrast pianists who are not always what chord is this bunch of notes. – badjohn Apr 26 '20 at 7:20





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  • Such a good source. – Rein Henrichs Nov 11 '11 at 18:33
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    You forgot to mention that there's a seventh in the EminAdd4, so wouldn't it be Em7add4? – Cole Johnson Oct 12 '15 at 23:53







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As pointed out by other answers, there is no unambiguous name for this chord without further context.

However, ignoring the (arguably redundant) high E, this particular "Em11 voicing" has apparently been dubbed the So What chord.

Given the iconic nature of the well-known Miles Davis jazz standard, this may be a strong contender for the "best" name?






As others have pointed out, @user1044 in particular, context matters. If you're playing all the open strings in the context of some piece of music, you'd have to take the chord's role in the progression into consideration. Still, wouldn't it be nice to know what the candidates were?

Without resorting to "slash" chords, I listed every possibility below. These aren't equally good names for the chord, but each accurately describes the pitch classes in the chord (E A D G B). Chord symbols are bad at implying voicings, so, for example, Em7add4 and Em7add11 are both possibilities. Some people will tell you Em7add11 is correct because you can't have an "add" unless you use it with an extension interval (9, 11, or 13). Others will argue that the A2 is a perfect 4th—not a perfect 11th—from the E2; therefore Em7add4 is more appropriate. Whatever. There is no standards body for chord symbols. The conventions vary from publisher-to-publisher, genre-to-genre, and school-to-school.

  • Em7(add4)
  • Em7(add11)
  • E7(♯9sus4)
  • E11(♯9omit3)
  • A9(sus4)
  • A7(sus2,4)
  • A7(sus2add11)
  • A11(omit3)
  • D(sus2add11,13)
  • D(add9,11,13omit3)
  • D(sus4add9,13)
  • D(sus2,4add13)
  • D6(sus2,4)
  • D6/9(sus4)
  • D6(sus2add11)
  • D6(add9,11omit3)
  • G(add9,13)
  • G(add2,13)
  • G6(add2)
  • G6/9
  • Bm7(add11,♭13omit5)
  • Bm7(add4,♭13omit5)
  • B7(♯9sus4add♭13omit5)
  • B11(♯5♯9omit3)
  • B11(♯9♭13omit3,5)






I think I answered a similar question a while back. The easiest thing that comes to mind in an E minor 11. My reasoning behind that that the physical chord form (without the A string) is a classic minor 7th. This is also movable up the neck. So, at any fret, N, if you play (N, X, N, N, N, N) = LN minor 7th, where LN = the letter name of the note at fret N on the low E string. In terms of degrees they are (1, X, b7, b3, 5, 1) every note is represented. Adding the A string adds the 4th, or 11th so it is a voicing of the minor 11th chord, (1, b3, 5, b7, 11), no 9th. This doesn't mean that is the only possible choice. Considering the A string as the root you don't have the 3rd present so I would think of it as a 9th chord, major or minor, it seems more like a sus chord. Treating the G as a root (and keep in mind that the open G chord has three open string in it) you have root, 3rd = B, 5 = D, E = 6th, and A = 9th which makes a voicing of G(69) a beautiful chord. It may be a non0standar voicing but the notes are there and the chord complete. The voicing I typically use is (1, 3, 6, 9, 5, 1) where numbers are degrees, which would be fingered (3, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3) where numbers are frets. Of all the answers provided I would lean towards G 69 and E-11. And of course this assumes standard tuning.