E guitar chord: 5 ways to play E major

Ways to play E

Open position first, then up the neck. Tap a shape to put it on the fretboard above and hear it. The numbers are fingers (1 is your index), × means leave that string out, and ○ means let it ring open.

What's in E

A major chord stacks a major 3rd (four half steps) and a perfect 5th (seven half steps) on the root. For E that gives E, G♯ and B. Every shape below is some arrangement of those three notes, with a few doubled in another octave.

Note	Formula	Interval from E
E	1	Root
G♯	3	Major 3rd
B	5	Perfect 5th

Major chords sound settled and bright. They are the I, IV and V of every major key, which is why so many songs get by on three of them.

The key of E major

Four sharps. Both E strings ring open as the root, which is why so much blues and rock sits here: E, A and B7 are all a twelve-bar needs.

The seven chords built from the E major scale:

IE
iiF♯m
iiiG♯m
IVA
VB
viC♯m
vii°D♯dim

Songs in E major

Peaceful Easy Feeling, Eagles
Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen

Keys that use E

Every major and minor key whose scale contains all of E, G♯ and B, and the chord's Roman numeral in each. Minor keys marked harmonic get the chord from the raised 7th of the harmonic minor scale.

Key	E is the
E major	I
B major	IV
A major	V
A minor (harmonic)	V
G♯ minor	VI
C♯ minor	III
F♯ minor	VII

Progressions to try

I–IV–V in E major

E
A
B
E

The three-chord backbone of folk, blues and early rock and roll.

I–V–vi–IV in E major

The loop under a huge share of pop songs since the 1980s.

I–vi–IV–V in E major

The 1950s doo-wop progression. Same chords as above, different order, very different mood.

The relative minor is C♯m, which shares its key signature. The parallel minor is Em, same root with the 3rd lowered.

Other chords on E:

See every chord in the library

E major chord