Eb Chord on Guitar: Easy Version, Barre and Capo

Q: How do you play an Eb chord on guitar?

The standard version is a barre at the sixth fret: x68886 . Lay the first finger across the A string to the high E at fret 6, then flatten the third finger across the D, G and B strings at fret 8. Do not play the low E. If the barre is not ready, play xx1343 on the top four strings instead.

Q: How do you play Eb without a barre?

Two ways. Play xx1343 : first finger on the D string at fret 1, second on the G string at fret 3, third on the high E at fret 3, fourth on the B string at fret 4. Or put a capo on the first fret and play an ordinary open D shape (xx0232): it sounds as Eb.

Q: What notes are in an E flat chord?

Three: Eb, G and Bb . Eb is the root, G the major third, Bb the fifth.

E flat has no open shape. Guitars are built around the sharp keys, E, A, D, G, and Eb sits right between them, one fret above D and one below E. So a song in Eb, or one that borrows it from Bb or Ab, asks for a barre or a workaround. You have three: a four string shape that is simply D moved up a fret, a capo at the first fret, and the barre at the sixth fret. All three are real E flat major chords.

Eb chord: notes and shapes at a glance

Name: E flat major
Symbol: Eb
Notes: Eb, G, Bb
Where it belongs: I in Eb major, V in Ab major, IV in Bb major, III in C minor, VII in F minor, VI in G minor, V in Ab minor

Each shape below is written from the thickest string to the thinnest: a number is the fret, 0 an open string, x a string you do not play. New to this? See how to read chord diagrams.

Shape	Frets, low E to high E	Notes, low to high	What it is for
Eb, four strings	`xx1343`	Eb Bb Eb G	The E flat chord without a barre: the D shape moved up one fret. Complete, top four strings only.
Eb, fifth string root	`x6888x`	Eb Bb Eb G	Root on the A string, high E left out. One finger per string, so no barre yet.
Eb, barre	`x68886`	Eb Bb Eb G Bb	The standard Eb: the A major shape barred at the sixth fret, third finger flat across three strings.
Eb, C shape	`x65343`	Eb G Bb Eb G	The open C shape moved up three frets. A wide stretch, a warm sound, and the root still on the A string.

Eb, four strings x x 1 3 4 3 · · 1 2 4 3 fingers

Eb, fifth string root x 6 8 8 8 x · 1 2 3 4 · fingers

Eb, barre x 6 8 8 8 6 · 1 3 3 3 1 fingers

Eb, C shape x 6 5 3 4 3 · 4 3 1 2 1 fingers

Read each diagram from the thickest string on the left to the thinnest on the right. A cross means the string is not played, a circle means it rings open.

Eb on the neck: every Eb, G, Bb

Standard tuning, frets 0 to 12. The highlighted notes are the notes of Eb: any shape you build from them, anywhere on the neck, is still Eb.

Fretboard notes

Swipe the fretboard sideways to see every fret.

1 - E

2 - B

3 - G

4 - D

5 - A

6 - E

Eb without a barre: xx1343

If you can play the D chord, you can play this one. It is the same idea one fret higher, with the first finger taking the place of the open D string.

First finger on the D string, first fret: Eb, the root.
Second finger on the G string, third fret: Bb.
Third finger on the high E string, third fret: G.
Fourth finger on the B string, fourth fret: Eb again.

Strum from the D string down; the low E and the A string are out. The shape is compact but the fourth finger has to reach past the third, so check the high E rings: if it is dead, the fourth finger is lying on it.

The capo route: capo on the first fret, then play D (xx0232) as usual. Everything you play behind the capo moves up a half step, so D becomes Eb, A becomes Bb, G becomes Ab. When a whole song is in Eb, that is often the easiest answer. The capo chart lists every shape and what it becomes.

The Eb barre chord at the sixth fret

x68886 is the A major shape with the first finger as the nut. Build it in two steps.

1. Without the barre: x6888x

First finger on the A string at fret 6, then second, third and fourth fingers on the D, G and B strings at fret 8. One finger per string. Strum from the A string and leave the high E out. That is already a complete Eb.

2. With the barre: x68886

Lay the first finger flat from the A string to the high E at fret 6, and replace the three fingers at fret 8 with the third finger lying across them. The tricky part is the B string: the third finger has to press it without touching the high E just below. Bend the last joint back a little so the finger arches over the high E, or simply leave the high E out and stay on x6888x.

x65343, the last shape above, is the open C chord moved up three frets, with the first finger barring the top three strings at fret 3. It asks for a wide stretch between the first and fourth fingers, but it sounds rounder than the A shape and sits lower on the neck.

Barres hurt for the same few reasons everywhere: the finger too far from the fret wire, a crease landing on a string, a thumb squeezing instead of pinching. The barre chords page walks through each one.

Eb or E: do not mix them up

E flat and E major are one fret apart and share almost nothing.

Chord	Notes	Usual shape
Eb	Eb, G, Bb	`x68886` or `xx1343`
E	E, G#, B	`022100`

On a chord chart, the small "b" after the letter is the whole difference. Eb is sometimes written D#, the same pitch under another name; it is played exactly the same way.

Where Eb shows up

E flat lives in the flat keys: home in Eb, the IV chord in Bb, the V in Ab, and the III of C minor. Those are the keys horn players and piano players favor, so if you play with a band that has either, you will meet Eb often.

A useful loop is Eb, Bb, Cm, Ab (I, V, vi, IV in E flat), with Bb at x13331, Cm at x35543 and Ab at 466544. All barres, which is exactly why a capo at the first fret and the open shapes D, A, Bm, G are so popular for it.

To hear Eb in context: Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams loops Fm, Ab, Eb and Bb. It is also commonly played with a capo at the first fret and the shapes Em, G, D and A, the capo trick above in a real song.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play an Eb chord on guitar?

The standard version is a barre at the sixth fret: x68886. Lay the first finger across the A string to the high E at fret 6, then flatten the third finger across the D, G and B strings at fret 8. Do not play the low E. If the barre is not ready, play xx1343 on the top four strings instead.

How do you play Eb without a barre?

Two ways. Play xx1343: first finger on the D string at fret 1, second on the G string at fret 3, third on the high E at fret 3, fourth on the B string at fret 4. Or put a capo on the first fret and play an ordinary open D shape (xx0232): it sounds as Eb.

What notes are in an E flat chord?

Three: Eb, G and Bb. Eb is the root, G the major third, Bb the fifth.

Is Eb the same as D#?

They sound the same: Eb and D# are two names for one pitch, so the shapes are identical. Charts almost always say Eb, because the keys it belongs to (Eb, Bb, Ab, C minor) are written with flats. If you see D# major, play the same shapes.

What is the difference between Eb and E on guitar?

A half step, one fret, and it matters. E major (022100) has E, G# and B; E flat has Eb, G and Bb. Play one in place of the other and every note clashes with the band. Watch for the small "b" after the letter on the chart.

Yohann Abbou, guitar teacher and founder of Guitar Social Club

Who made this

Guitar Social Club is the work of Yohann Abbou, a guitar teacher in Paris who teaches adults. Every shape on this page is written string by string and checked against standard tuning, and the diagrams are drawn from those same fret numbers. The rest of our free guitar tools, including the chord finder, work the same way.

More about Yohann on his page, and about why Guitar Social Club exists.

The E flat chord (Eb) on guitar, with and without a barre