The key of E major has four sharps. For reference, here are the notes in the E major scale:
- E
- F Sharp
- G Sharp
- A
- B
- C Sharp
- D Sharp
All the chords in the key of E major are made up of these seven notes, and each note gets to be the root note for one of the chords, thus making seven triad chords in this key.
- E Major
- F Sharp Minor
- G Sharp Minor
- A Major
- B Major
- C Sharp Minor
- D Sharp Diminished
Note: In this article I’m using guitar chord charts that I created using Microsoft Paint. Here are all the guitar chord charts that are free to use personally and commercially under Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License.
I Chord — E Major or E Major Seventh
The first chord (I) in the key of E major is the E major chord. Below is my preferred way to play the E major chord on guitar.
The E major seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the I chord in the key of E major. Below is my favorite way to play the E major seventh chord.
ii Chord — F Sharp Minor or F Sharp Minor Seventh
The second chord (ii) in the key of E major is the F sharp minor chord. Below is my preferred way to play the F sharp minor chord on guitar.
The F sharp minor seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the ii chord in the key of E major. Below is my favorite way to play the F sharp minor seventh chord.
iii Chord — G Sharp Minor or G Sharp Minor Seventh
The third chord (iii) in the key of E major is the G sharp minor chord. Below is my preferred way to play the G sharp minor chord on guitar.
The G sharp minor seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the iii chord in the key of E major. Below is my favorite way to play the G sharp minor seventh chord.
IV Chord — A Major or A Major Seventh
The fourth chord (IV) in the key of E major is the A major chord. Below is my preferred way to play the A major chord on guitar.
The A major seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the IV chord in the key of E major. Below is my favorite way to play the A major seventh chord.
V Chord — B Major or B Dominant Seventh
The fifth chord (V) in the key of E major is the B major chord. Below is my preferred way to play the B major chord on guitar.
The B dominant seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the V chord in the key of E major. Below is my favorite way to play the B dominant seventh chord.
vi Chord — C Sharp Minor or C Sharp Minor Seventh
The sixth chord (vi) in the key of E major is the C sharp minor chord. Below is my preferred way to play the C sharp minor chord on guitar.
The C sharp minor seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the vi chord in the key of E major. Below is my favorite way to play the C sharp minor seventh chord.
viidim Chord — D Sharp Diminished or D Sharp Minor Seventh Flat Five
The seventh chord (viidim) in the key of E major is the D sharp diminished chord. Below is my preferred way to play the D sharp diminished chord on guitar.
The D sharp minor seventh flat five chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the viidim chord in the key of E major. Below is my favorite way to play the D sharp minor seventh flat five chord.
Chord Progressions in the Key of E Major
Here are 10 chord progressions in the key of E Major that you can experiment with. I have included guitar tablature to make playing the chords easier for you.
1. E Major, A Major, B Major
E| --0---0-----0---0-----2---2---
B| --0---0-----2---2-----4---4---
G| --1---1-----2---2-----4---4---
D| --2---2-----2---2-----4---4---
A| --2---2-----0---0-----2---2---
E| --0---0-----------------------
2. E Major, B Major, C Sharp Minor, A Major
E| --0---0-----2---2-----4---4-----0---0---
B| --0---0-----4---4-----5---5-----2---2---
G| --1---1-----4---4-----6---6-----2---2---
D| --2---2-----4---4-----6---6-----2---2---
A| --2---2-----2---2-----4---4-----0---0---
E| --0---0---------------------------------
3. E Major, A Major, E Major, B Major
E| --0---0-----0---0-----0---0-----2---2---
B| --0---0-----2---2-----0---0-----4---4---
G| --1---1-----2---2-----1---1-----4---4---
D| --2---2-----2---2-----2---2-----4---4---
A| --2---2-----0---0-----2---2-----2---2---
E| --0---0---------------0---0-------------
4. E Major, G Sharp Minor, A Major, C Sharp Minor
E| --0---0-----4---4-----0---0-----4---4---
B| --0---0-----4---4-----2---2-----5---5---
G| --1---1-----4---4-----2---2-----6---6---
D| --2---2-----6---6-----2---2-----6---6---
A| --2---2-----6---6-----0---0-----4---4---
E| --0---0-----4---4-----------------------
5. C Sharp Minor, A Major, E Major, B Major
E| --4---4-----0---0-----0---0-----2---2---
B| --5---5-----2---2-----0---0-----4---4---
G| --6---6-----2---2-----1---1-----4---4---
D| --6---6-----2---2-----2---2-----4---4---
A| --4---4-----0---0-----2---2-----2---2---
E| ----------------------0---0-------------
6. A Major, E Major, B Major, E Major
E| --0---0-----0---0-----2---2-----0---0---
B| --2---2-----0---0-----4---4-----0---0---
G| --2---2-----1---1-----4---4-----1---1---
D| --2---2-----2---2-----4---4-----2---2---
A| --0---0-----2---2-----2---2-----2---2---
E| ------------0---0---------------0---0---
7. E Major, C Sharp Minor, A Major, B Major
E| --0---0-----4---4-----0---0-----2---2---
B| --0---0-----5---5-----2---2-----4---4---
G| --1---1-----6---6-----2---2-----4---4---
D| --2---2-----6---6-----2---2-----4---4---
A| --2---2-----4---4-----0---0-----2---2---
E| --0---0---------------------------------
8. F Sharp Minor, B Major, E Major, C Sharp Minor
E| --2---2-----2---2-----0---0-----4---4---
B| --2---2-----4---4-----0---0-----5---5---
G| --2---2-----4---4-----1---1-----6---6---
D| --4---4-----4---4-----2---2-----6---6---
A| --4---4-----2---2-----2---2-----4---4---
E| --2---2---------------0---0-------------
9. E Major, A Major, C Sharp Minor, B Major
E| --0---0-----0---0-----4---4-----2---2---
B| --0---0-----2---2-----5---5-----4---4---
G| --1---1-----2---2-----6---6-----4---4---
D| --2---2-----2---2-----6---6-----4---4---
A| --2---2-----0---0-----4---4-----2---2---
E| --0---0---------------------------------
10. E Major, F Sharp Minor, G Sharp Minor, A Major, B Major
E| --0---0-----2---2-----4---4-----0---0-----2---2---
B| --0---0-----2---2-----4---4-----2---2-----4---4---
G| --1---1-----2---2-----4---4-----2---2-----4---4---
D| --2---2-----4---4-----6---6-----2---2-----4---4---
A| --2---2-----4---4-----6---6-----0---0-----2---2---
E| --0---0-----2---2-----4---4-----------------------
11. E Major, A Major, F Sharp Minor, B Major
E| --0---0-----0---0-----2---2-----2---2---
B| --0---0-----2---2-----2---2-----4---4---
G| --1---1-----2---2-----2---2-----4---4---
D| --2---2-----2---2-----4---4-----4---4---
A| --2---2-----0---0-----4---4-----2---2---
E| --0---0---------------2---2-------------
12. E Major, B Major, C Sharp Minor, G Sharp Minor, A Major, E Major, A Major, B Major
E| --0---0-----2---2-----4---4-----4---4-----0---0-----0---0-----0---0-----2---2---
B| --0---0-----4---4-----5---5-----4---4-----2---2-----0---0-----2---2-----4---4---
G| --1---1-----4---4-----6---6-----4---4-----2---2-----1---1-----2---2-----4---4---
D| --2---2-----4---4-----6---6-----6---6-----2---2-----2---2-----2---2-----4---4---
A| --2---2-----2---2-----4---4-----6---6-----0---0-----2---2-----0---0-----2---2---
E| --0---0-------------------------4---4---------------0---0-----------------------
