Chords in the Key of E Major

What are the chords in E major?

Take the E major scale — E F# G# A B C# D# — and build a chord on each note by stacking every other scale note on top of it. Those seven chords are the chords in the key:

• E — I, major, built on E
• F#m — ii, minor, built on F#
• G#m — iii, minor, built on G#
• A — IV, major, built on A
• B — V, major, built on B
• C#m — vi, minor, built on C#
• D#dim — vii°, diminished, built on D#

The pattern of qualities is the same in every major key — only the letters change. Learn the numerals and you can find the chords of any key in seconds.

Which chords to play first

E, A and B — the I, IV and V — carry most songs in E major. Add C#m (the vi, the relative minor) and you have the four chords behind a large share of popular music.

• Pop Anthem — 1–5–6m–4 — E – B – C#m – A. Heard in Let It Be (verse), Don't Stop Believin'.
• Rock / Country / Blues Backbone — 1–4–5 — E – A – B. Heard in Wild Thing, Twist and Shout.
• 50s / Doo-Wop — 1–6m–4–5 — E – C#m – A – B. Heard in Stand By Me, Earth Angel.
• Rhythm Changes Turnaround — 1–6m–2m–5 — E – C#m – F#m – B. Heard in I Got Rhythm, Heart and Soul (original).

The same chords as 7ths

Stack one more third on each and you get the seventh chords of E major: Emaj7, F#m7, G#m7, Amaj7, B7, C#m7, D#m7♭5. Same roots, same function, a jazz and soul colour. The V as a dominant seventh (B7) is the one that pulls hardest back to E.

E major and C# minor share every chord

C# minor uses the same seven notes as E major, so it has the same seven chords — the relative minor. What changes is which chord is home: E in E major, C#m in C# minor. A song can drift between the two without changing a single chord shape.

• The chords of C# minor, with their own numerals
• The E major scale on the neck

How to practice the chords of E major

1. Play E – A – B – E slowly, one strum per chord, until the changes are clean.
2. Open the chord builder in this key and turn on Smooth Voice Leading — it re-fingers each change so your hand barely moves.
3. Then play the scale over the chords. Every note of E major fits every chord above, which is why the scale and the key are the same thing seen from two sides.