E major the chords in the key
- Scale
- E F# G# A B C# D#
- Key signature
- four sharps: F# C# G# D#
- Relative minor
- C# minor
The seven chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | E | E G# B | |
| ii | F#m | F# A C# | |
| iii | G#m | G# B D# | |
| IV | A | A C# E | |
| V | B | B D# F# | |
| vi | C#m | C# E G# | |
| vii° | D#dim | D# F# A |
Seventh chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imaj7 | Emaj7 | E G# B D# | |
| ii7 | F#m7 | F# A C# E | |
| iii7 | G#m7 | G# B D# F# | |
| IVmaj7 | Amaj7 | A C# E G# | |
| V7 | B7 | B D# F# A | |
| vi7 | C#m7 | C# E G# B | |
| viiø7 | D#m7b5 | D# F# A C# |
Common progressions in E major
- I–V–vi–IV the four-chord pop loop
- I–IV–V three-chord rock, folk and country
- ii–V–I the jazz cadence, in sevenths
- vi–IV–I–V the same four chords starting on the minor one
- 12-bar blues one chord per bar; every chord a dominant 7, which the major scale alone does not give
On guitar
Capo 2. With a capo on fret 2, play the open shapes D for E, G for A, A for B: they sound as the I, IV and V (E, A and B). The vi chord, C#m, does not become an open shape at that fret.
How the chords of E major work
E major uses the notes E F# G# A B C# D#, four sharps: F# C# G# D#. Stack every other note of that scale on each degree and you get the seven chords above: three major (E, A and B: I, IV and V), three minor (F#m, G#m and C#m: ii, iii and vi) and one diminished (D#dim, vii°). Most songs in E lean on E, A and B, with C#m as the fourth chord.
The V7, B7 (B D# F# A), is the chord that sounds like it wants to come home: its D# rises a semitone to E and its A falls a semitone to G#. A song that ends B7 to E is almost certainly in E major.
C#m is also the home chord of C# minor, the relative minor: it uses exactly the same seven notes and the same seven chords. So a chord list from this page can be in either key; it is usually in the one whose home chord it starts or ends on.
Have a list of chords and not sure of the key? The key finder scores it against all 24 keys and can transpose it.
What this page cannot do
- Only major and minor keys. Dorian, Mixolydian and the other modes are not covered: a song in D Mixolydian (D, C, G) uses the chords of G major and will look like G major here.
- Finding a key from chord names is a best fit, not a certainty. A chord list cannot tell a key from its relative minor, which shares every chord; the melody and where the song comes to rest decide it.
- Songs change key. A bridge or a last chorus a step higher is a new key, with its own page.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, each chord in root position, not a recorded piano or guitar.