Chords in the Key of E Minor
Every diatonic triad and seventh chord in E minor, with the progressions built from them. Free. No sign-up.
Key facts
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 minor
i–VI–III–VII
Em – C – G – D
The minor pop loop — same four chords as the major axis, started from the minor side.
i–iv–v
Em – Am – Bm
The minor blues shape — all three chords stay minor in the natural scale.
i–VII–VI
Em – D – C
The descending rock lament, one whole step at a time.
i–iv–VII–III
Em – Am – D – G
A circle-of-fifths descent — each root falls a fifth to the next.
How the key of E minor works
E Minor carries one sharp (F#). 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.
G Major is the relative major: identical key signature, identical seven chords. Treat G — the III chord here — as home base and you are in G major without changing a note.
The parallel major, E Major, keeps the same root but raises the third, sixth, and seventh — its signature shifts to four sharps (F#, C#, G# and D#). Moving a section from minor to parallel major is one of the oldest brightness tricks in songwriting.
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