E♭, the E♭ major guitar chord

E♭ is the B♭ grip slid up five frets: the index barres five strings at the 6th fret, the ring finger flattens across three at the 8th, and the low E stays out of the strum. You’ll meet it in soul and Motown, where the horns pull songs into flat keys. This is the highest up the neck a chord has taken you yet. The barre presses easiest this far from the nut, but the frets are narrower, so the flat ring finger has less room to do its work. Pick the five strings one at a time and listen for the three underneath it.

E♭

How to play it

Index finger flattened across the A string (5th) and high E string (1st), 6th fret.
Ring finger flattened across the D string (4th), G string (3rd) and B string (2nd), 8th fret.
Don't strum the low E string (6th). It stays silent in this shape.

Changes to practice

Holding E♭ still is the easy part. Songs need you to arrive at it in rhythm, so in Strumhold you practice E♭ as changes, alongside the rest of the Barres in Every Key set:

E♭ ↔ A♭ E♭ major to A♭ major
E♭ ↔ G♯m E♭ major to G♯ minor
E♭ ↔ F♯ E♭ major to F♯ major
E♭ ↔ C♯ E♭ major to C♯ major
E♭ ↔ E♭m E♭ major to E♭ minor
E♭ ↔ B♭m E♭ major to B♭ minor
E♭ ↔ Fm E♭ major to F minor

How to play it

Changes to practice

Same root, different color