Chords & Progressions, Music Theory

The Guitar Chords of E Major (Simply Explained)

Written By :Andrew Siemon

In my view, E Major is one of the brighter-sounding keys.

The key of E major scale includes the chords E Major, F# Minor, G# Minor, A Major, B Major (B7), C# Minor, and D# Diminished. It would be worth your time to also learn the D#m7b5 chord as well as the 3-note triads of the scale, all over the neck.

The 7 Notes of E Major

Before we begin, we have to start with the notes of E Major which are shown down below.

Notes of E Major - The Guitar Chords of E Major (Simply Explained)
The notes shown here from left to right are: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, and then E again.

The Scale Degrees of E Major

What makes a chord? You need a root, third, and a fifth to make a standard chord in Western harmony.

A major chord, such as E major, consists of a root (E), a major third (E to G#), and a perfect fifth (E to B).

Major 3rd Interval is a distance of 4 semi-tones (or 4 frets).

A Minor Chord, such as F# Minor, consists of a root (F#), a Minor 3rd (F# to A), and a Perfect 5th (F# to C#).

Minor 3rd Interval is a distance of 3 semi-tones.

A Diminished Chord, such as D# Diminished, consists of a Root (D#), a Minor 3rd (D# to A) and a Diminished 5th (D# to G#).

Diminished 5th interval is a distance of 6 semi-tones.

We’re going to use these intervals throughout the remainder of the article so pay attention.

All 7 Chords of E Major 

Chords of E Major - The Guitar Chords of E Major (Simply Explained)
These are the chords of E Major: E Major, F# Minor, G# Minor, A Major, B Major (B7), C# Minor, and D# Diminished.

If you add the minor 7th to the B Major chord (the A), this will make the B Major chord a Dominant 7th – a B7.

A Dominant 7th chord, for example, a B7, is made up of a Major 3rd (B to D#), Perfect 5th (B to F#), and Minor 7th (B to A).

1) E Major

E Major Triads - The Guitar Chords of E Major (Simply Explained)
These are the E Major triads in root position, 1st, and 2nd inversions.
E Major Triads - the Chords of E Major
Displayed here are a few basic E Major voicings but also a couple of cool ones.

To turn the E Major chord into an E Major 7th, add the 7th note of the scale to it (D#), making it E, G#, B, and D. The distance between the E and D# is a major 7th (11 semitones).

2) F# Minor

F# Minor Triads - the Chords of E Major
The F# Minor triads in root position, 1st inversion, and 2nd inversions.
F# Minor Voicings - Chords of E Major
Some cool voicings of F# Minor. The 3rd one from the right is more like an F# Minor 9th because it has an Ab/G# in it.

By adding an E note to the chord, we achieve a F#m7.

3) G# Minor

Ab Minor - Chords of E Major
Here are the triads of G# Minor in root position, 1st, and 2nd inversions.
Ab Minor - Ab Minor Chords
Here are some cool voicings of the G# Minor chord.

To make a G# Minor 7th chord, we just have to add the 7th note (F#) if G# is the beginning of the scale. This gives us G#, B, D#, and F#.

4) A Major

Triads of A Major
These are the triads of A Major in root position, 1st, and 2nd inversions.
6 voicings of the A Major chord.
Here are 6 voicings of the A Major chord. The last one is the coolest. It has C# in the bass.

To make an A Major 7th chord, add the 7th note of the A Major scale (G#). This will give us the notes A, C#, E, and G#.

5) B Major (B7)

The triads of B Major
These are the triads of B Major in root position, 1st, and 2nd inversions.
B Major Voicings -  The Guitar Chords of E Major (Simply Explained)
Here are 6 voicings of the B Major chord. I decided to choose cooler and less common voicings.

Adding the minor 7th to the B Major chord (the A note) transforms it into a Dominant 7th – represented as B7. I’ve included some B7 voicings below.

B7 Voicings - The Guitar Chords of E Major (Simply Explained)
Here are some standard voicings of the B7 chord. I’ve included a couple of cool ones as well.

6) C# Minor

C# Minor Triads -  The Guitar Chords of E Major (Simply Explained)
Here are the triads of C# Minor in root position, 1st, and 2nd inversions.
C# Minor - The Guitar Chords of E Major (Simply Explained)
Here are 6 voicings of the C# Minor chord. The 3rd one from the left and last one from the right are my favourites.

To make the C# Minor chord a C# Minor 7th, you would add the 7th counting from C# (the B note).

7) D# Diminished (D#m7b5)

D# Diminished - The Guitar Chords of E Major (Simply Explained)
These are the triads of D# Diminished in root position, 1st, and 2nd inversions.
D# Diminished - The Chords of E Major
Here are some interesting voicings of the D#m7b5 chord.

I’ve included the D#m7b5 instead of the regular D# diminished chord, because I think it’s a more interesting and more useful chord.

What Are the Primary and Secondary Chords of E Major? 

The way you use and blend primary and secondary chords adds personality and emotional tone to your musical work.

It’s also true that you could paint your auditory canvas with nothing but secondary chords to give a new take on a brighter-sounding key like E major.

Primary

In E major, our primary chords are E major, A major, and B major (B7). Whichever chord you want to think of as red, yellow, or blue is up to you.

Theoretically, our tonic, E major, wants to progress to the sub-dominant, A major, which then wants to climax at the dominant chord, B major, before resolving back to the tonic.

These are the “lines” of our musical colouring book. Lines that we do not have to stay inside of.

Secondary

In full, our secondary chords are F# minor, G# minor, C# Minor, and D# diminished.

To paint a fuller picture, we can use secondary chords to add a bit more personalization to the work.

Let’s say that we find ourselves starting out with primary chords, moving from E major to A major. We could easily move on to a B7, but what else could we choose?

B7 has the notes B, D#, and F#. The last three notes of B7 make up the entire D# diminished triad. Instead of transitioning to D# Diminished, however, we could use the extended D#m7(b5).

Learning to see chords for their similarities instead of their differences is the key to using primary and secondary chords effectively.

What Are The 3 Major Modes of E Major?

1) Ionian

2) Lydian 

However, to make our chord progression sound distinct from the Ionian mode, we want to focus on its special qualities.

The Lydian scale is distinctive due to its inclusion of a sharp fourth degree. While we don’t actually raise a note, it is relatively sharp compared to the A major scale.

3) Mixolydian

To play convincingly in B Mixolydian, we’ll follow the same basic principles discussed for A Lydian. However, Mixolydian’s defining tone is its flat seventh degree.

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Andrew Siemon is the principal creator for TravelingGuitarist.com, a website entirely devoted to all things guitar. From repairs, music theory, chords, and improvisation, to recording at home. I've been doing this for 20 years and I've got another 50 in me.

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