Em chord construction - UU university- music theory query

Hi, I'm going through the UU music theory course videos at the moment. Without any music knowledge I thought it was making sense until "week 5 minor triads"
At about 5 min into the video it explains the construction of the Em chord.
This is made up of E, G ,B
It explains to play the closest note to the string so:
G string play G
C string play E
E string play G ????
A string play B

All makes sense apart from the closest note to the E string is obviously E. why do you play G??
I have looked online for other information but can't work it out. I think I must have missed something important along he way?
Any help would be appreciated.

Hi

There is no "one definitive" voicing for a chord. There are many and each gives you a different feeling/color/whatever.

Your thinking is right on. You can play Em chord as 0 4 0 2 instead of 0 4 3 2. Perfect!

I see two possible reasons why people prefer the latter voicing: The 0432 form is very natural - the left-hand fingers just fall into places without much stretching and is an easy shape to hold. 0 4 0 2, on the other hand, you will lift up the middle finger and that's actually pretty awkward.

Another reasons is that you get the same note (E) from two strings. That may sound unbalanced and thin (personal taste). To me, the chord sounds fuller if I use 0432. Also, if you're out of tune, it will be too obvious if you have one same note from two strings.

You can also do, for Em, 4 4 3 2; 0 7 7 7; 9 7 7 7 , etc etc.

Cheers
Chief

Thank you for your reply. I was thinking this might b the case.
I was confused because of how it is explained. Aldrin comes to the E string and says "E string, the closest is G" marks down the G note and then moves onto the A string. I'm thinking but the closet is E.
Aldrin doesn't say the closest is E but G is a better option. He explains you always choose the closest.
Anyway, I think I understand. I must just be an oversight?
BW Craig

Keep in mind that the Em chord appears very often in the key of G (it is the vi of that key which happens to be the most often-used secondary chord in most modern music). So, you can bounce back and forth very easy between G and Em simply by folding your pinky over to the E on the C string - all the other fingers stay where they are.

Try it, you'll like it.

John