ChordWheel › Keys › E major
Chords in the key of E major
E major has 4 sharps (F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯). Its seven chords are E, F♯m, G♯m, A, B, C♯m, D♯° . Its relative minor is C♯ minor , which uses the same chords with C♯m as home.
C major A minor C Am G major E minor G Em D major B minor D Bm A major F♯ minor A F♯m IV ii E major C♯ minor E C♯m I vi B major G♯ minor B G♯m V iii F♯ major D♯ minor F♯ D♯m D♭ major B♭ minor D♭ B♭m A♭ major F minor A♭ Fm E♭ major C minor E♭ Cm B♭ major G minor B♭ Gm F major D minor F Dm E 4 2 1 6 5 3 On the wheel, IV, I and V sit side by side on the outer ring with ii, vi and iii right below them. Tap any key on the wheel to go to its page.
Open E major in the interactive wheel
The seven chords
Number Chord 7th chord I E Emaj7 ii F♯m F♯m7 iii G♯m G♯m7 IV A Amaj7 V B B7 vi C♯m C♯m7 vii° D♯° D♯m7♭5
I
open
7fr × root on 5th string
E · G♯ · B ii
root on 6th string
9fr × root on 5th string
F♯ · A · C♯ G♯m iii
4fr root on 6th string
11fr × root on 5th string
G♯ · B · D♯ IV
× open
5fr root on 6th string
A · C♯ · E V
7fr root on 6th string
× root on 5th string
B · D♯ · F♯ vi
9fr root on 6th string
4fr × root on 5th string
C♯ · E · G♯ 7th chords
G♯m7 iii7
G♯ · B · D♯ · F♯ D♯m7♭5 viiø7
D♯ · F♯ · A · C♯
Common progressions in E major
E B C♯m A I V vi IV The pop engine (Let It Be, Someone Like You) E C♯m A B I vi IV V 50s / doo-wop (Stand By Me) C♯m A E B vi IV I V The same four from the minor side (Zombie, Africa-style) E A B I IV V Three-chord rock, blues and country F♯m B E ii V I The jazz cadence E D A E I ♭VII IV I Rock's borrowed cadence (Hey Jude coda, Sweet Child O' Mine) E A Am E I IV iv I The bittersweet ending (Creep)
Borrowed from the minor Chords from E minor dropped into E major. Rock lives on ♭VII; IV then iv then I is the bittersweet move (Creep).
Secondary dominants A 7th chord that leads into another chord of the key as if it were home for a moment. Its root is one step clockwise of its target on the wheel.
D♯7 V7/iii
D♯ · F♯♯ · A♯ · C♯ G♯7 V7/vi
G♯ · B♯ · D♯ · F♯ Colour chords The same slot on the wheel with a different flavour. Sus chords swap the 3rd for the 2nd or 4th and like to resolve back to the plain chord (Esus4 → E). add9 adds the 2nd on top of the full chord. These are the common ones whose notes all stay in the key (here: Esus2, Esus4, Eadd9); the small label is the slot they sit in.
The E major scale
E major: E F♯ G♯ A B C♯ D♯ . The key's seven chords are built from these notes; the borrowed and secondary chords above bring in notes from outside it.
Related keys
A major : one step counterclockwise; D♯ becomes D. A smooth key change.B major : one step clockwise; A becomes A♯. A smooth key change.C♯ minor : the relative minor, same notes.E minor : the parallel minor, same home note, where the borrowed chords come from.
Questions What chords are in the key of E major? The seven chords in E major are E, F#m, G#m, A, B, C#m, D#°. As 7th chords: Emaj7, F#m7, G#m7, Amaj7, B7, C#m7, D#m7b5.
How many sharps or flats does E major have? E major has 4 sharps (F# C# G# D#).
What is the relative minor of E major? C# minor. It uses exactly the same notes and chords; only the home chord changes.
What are common chord progressions in E major? I V vi IV: E B C#m A; I vi IV V: E C#m A B; vi IV I V: C#m A E B.