Triads
E major chord
Bright, stable and resolved — the foundation of most songs.
E is the I chord in E major, IV in B major and V in A major. In minor keys: III in C♯ minor, V in A minor, VI in G♯ minor and VII in F♯ minor.
- Notes
- EG♯B
- Formula
- 135
- Built from
- root · major 3rd · perfect 5th
How to play E
About the E major chord
E major is the guitar’s home chord: its root is the lowest open string and all six strings ring. That’s a big reason so much blues and rock is played in E — even though pianists, facing four sharps, see it less often.
Playing it
On guitar, E has an open-position shape, 022100, using three fingers alongside the open strings.
On piano, E has one black key (G♯) and two white keys.
On ukulele the usual E shape is 1402, using three fingers.
Related chords
E shares two of its three notes with C♯m (E and G♯), its relative minor, and with G♯m (G♯ and B). That overlap is why these chords sound so natural next to each other — and why they can often stand in for one another.
Move a single note and E becomes a different chord: lower G♯ to G for Em, add D for E7, add D♯ for Emaj7 and raise G♯ to A for Esus4.
