I’m thinking back on it now, and I don’t think anybody ever taught me an Eb chord… It’s the kind of thing that (close as I can figure) came about from learning a Stone Temple Pilots song or something. ALSO, it was probably this:
-x-
-x-
-x-
-8-
-6-
-x-
or this:
-x-
-x-
-8-
-8-
-6-
-x-
but either way, those are kind of still functional. However if you look at what I do with Bb, you’ll see where I’m driving for now. Here’s 2 in 6th position for you:
-x—–x—
-8—–8—
-8—–x—
-8—–8—
-6—–6—
-x—–x—
The benefit of the first one is that it’s voiced like an A chord, pleasing to the ear, and in general, fine-and-or-dandy. The second one leaves more room for other instruments and is real quick to grab because you’re not flattening a finger across three strings.
But that’s not all!
I like an Eb in lower positions whenever possible. My current favorite is this:
-x-
-4-
-3-
-1-
-x-
-3-
The fingering for this one is deceptively simple. If you’re having a problem with it, I’d say start by setting up the top three notes with fingers 1, 3 and 4 – like a power chord with the octave on the B string, then using your middle finger to grab the low G on the low E string. The meat of your middle finger should mute the A string handily, and your lazy pinky will kill the high E string without any trouble.
This voicing is super cool! One of my favorite things to grab when I’m playing a D chord is the F# on the low E string. The wideness of the interval between the low and high notes gives an illusion of more notes being played, and it gives a sense of motion, which is super helpful if you’re aiming to land on an Ab, or if you were on Ab, going to F minor like this:
-x–x–x
-x–5–x
-5–4–1
-6–1–3
-6–x–3
-4–3–1
Last word for now on how to get a great sounding Eb chord is this voicing here:
-x-
-4-
-3-
-5-
-6-
-x-
Looks like a C chord. Plays like one too, but you have to finger the basic C shape with your 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers, so that’s where I’d start if you need to strengthen your shameful pinky… Anyway, it becomes super sweet and easy when you can grab the Bb note on your G string (third fret) with your first finger.
This shape is great for a mid-range sound. Not too much high or low, doesn’t get in anybody’s way. Sometimes you’ll find that the power/barre looking voicings at the top of this page sound too punk rock or happy, and you want some closer harmonies to tighten a progression up. This is the one for that situation. There’s some moving bass pattern implications to this voicing that we can talk about later if you wanna talk about it, but for now, go play.