Chords in the Key of E Major

Diatonic triads

Seventh chords

Stack one more scale tone on each triad and you get the seventh chords — same key, more color.

Common progressions in E major

• I–V–vi–IV

  E – B – C#m – A

  The four-chord pop loop — a huge share of modern radio runs on it.

• I–IV–V

  E – A – B

  The three-chord workhorse behind blues, folk, and early rock and roll.

• ii–V–I

  F#m – B – E

  The jazz cadence — the strongest pull back home in the key.

• I–vi–IV–V

  E – C#m – A – B

  The '50s doo-wop turnaround, still everywhere in ballads.

How the key of E major works

E Major carries four sharps (F#, C#, G# and D#). The scale runs E–F#–G#–A–B–C#–D#, and stacking every other note of that scale builds the seven chords above — every chord tone comes from those same seven notes.

C# Minor is the relative minor: identical key signature, identical seven chords. A song that treats C#m — the vi chord here — as home base is in C# minor, even though its chord inventory matches this page exactly.

The parallel minor, E Minor, keeps the same root but flattens the third, sixth, and seventh — its signature shifts to one sharp (F#). Borrowing chords across that line is where a lot of songwriting color comes from.

Playing E major on guitar

In E major, E and A are open chords you can play in first position. F#m, G#m, B and C#m need a barre shape or a capo. The diminished D#dim is usually played as a small three-string shape rather than a full chord.

A capo is the shortcut. With one, the I–V–vi–IV progression (E – B – C#m – A) sounds in E major while you finger open shapes:

• Capo 9 · play it as G major

  G – D – Em – C

  4 of 4 shapes are open chords.

• Capo 2 · play it as D major

  D – A – Bm – G

  3 of 4 shapes are open chords.

• Capo 4 · play it as C major

  C – G – Am – F

  3 of 4 shapes are open chords.

Work out a capo for any song's chords

Where E major sits on the neck

The root, E, is the open low E string and fret 7 on the A string, the two places most major barre shapes and scale positions in E major are built from.

Four open strings are in the key: low E, A, B and high E. Watch the open D (fret 1 gives D#) and the open G (fret 1 gives G#).

The open low E (the root), B (the fifth) and high E (the root) strings make a drone you can let ring under riffs and melodies in this key.

One note separates E major from each neighbour on the circle of fifths. Raise A to A# and you are in B major; lower D# to D and you are in A major. Those are the two keys a song in E major most often modulates to.

Songs in E major

From the song library, these recordings sound in E major:

• Black, Pearl Jam
• Sweet Home Chicago, Traditional (Robert Johnson)

Keep practicing

• Practice the E major scale on the fretboard
• Jam these progressions over a backing track
• Transpose a song into or out of E major