E major chord
Home in E major, and the V that pulls toward A.
- How it sounds
- Bright and settled. E to G♯ is four frets, and that gap gives it its warmth, while B on top holds it steady. It has an open grip, the E form, with three open strings ringing.
- Where it lives
- The I of E major, the IV of B major and the V of A major. In E major it’s home; in A major it pulls the song back to A. In A harmonic minor it’s the V, and its third, G♯, is the raised seventh that leads back to A. Blues, rock and metal, where the open low E string gives the key its weight, and plenty of country.
Voicings across the neck
E, G♯ and B can be played in five places on the neck, each built from a different open chord shape. Neighbouring forms share a root, so each one hands over to the next, and together they run from the nut to the 12th fret before the cycle starts again. The open E form rings the most. The D form at the 2nd fret uses only the top four, which keeps it small and light.
- High E string: E at fret 0
- B string: B at fret 0
- G string: G♯ at fret 1
- D string: E at fret 2
- A string: B at fret 2
- Low E string: E at fret 0
- High E string: G♯ at fret 4
- B string: E at fret 5
- G string: B at fret 4
- D string: E at fret 2
- A string: not played
- Low E string: not played
- High E string: G♯ at fret 4
- B string: E at fret 5
- G string: B at fret 4
- D string: G♯ at fret 6
- A string: E at fret 7
- Low E string: not played
- High E string: B at fret 7
- B string: G♯ at fret 9
- G string: E at fret 9
- D string: B at fret 9
- A string: E at fret 7
- Low E string: not played
- High E string: E at fret 12
- B string: G♯ at fret 9
- G string: E at fret 9
- D string: B at fret 9
- A string: G♯ at fret 11
- Low E string: E at fret 12
Formula
| Intervals | Notes | Semitones |
|---|---|---|
| R · M3 · P5: what each interval does in a chord | E · G♯ · B | 4 + 3 |
E major is a root, a major third and a perfect fifth: E, G♯ and B, taken from the E major scale by skipping every other note. Four then three is what makes a chord major. Turn the gaps round, three then four, and you get E minor: E, G, B.
In these keys and scales
E major turns up in twelve scales on the site, and the job it does depends on the scale. In E major it’s the I, home. In A major and A harmonic minor it’s the V, the chord that pulls back home. In C♯ minor it’s the III, the relative major inside the minor key, and as the VI of G♯ minor it’s a warm step away from home. The numeral beside each scale names the job, and the name opens that scale’s page.
| Family | Scales |
|---|---|
| Major | |
| Natural minor | |
| Harmonic minor | |
| Melodic minor | |
| Pentatonic |
Progressions
A lot of progressions in E major start on E, and nearly all of them come back to it. In I–IV–V the other two chords keep returning to it. In I–V–vi–IV it opens the loop, and A at the end leads back round to it. V–I turns it the other way: there E is the V, and it resolves to A.