The E chord has become a beloved element in various genres of music, from iconic rock riffs to one of the earliest known pieces ever composed.
As part of understanding guitar theory, understanding key signatures is integral. Our music theory articles will walk you step-by-step through this process.
E Major
E major is one of the most widely-used chords on guitar and provides a fantastic basis for many different styles and genres, but is especially beloved within blues music. To play an E major chord in root position with your index finger on third string first fret and other fingers playing top three strings cross rhythmically as per classic blues techniques, try starting off in root position by starting to hammer-on or using other fingers as cross rhythm to give your playing added muscle and intensity.
Add a barre to this shape, making E/G#, for a slightly trickier fingering experience, but sounds wonderful with bass notes on the sixth string. Or try adding another string for Esus2, making an alternative shape that works well alternating with open E chords.
To create chords in any key, take the notes of the scale you are working with and stack them as three-note triads (three-note chords). This will guarantee all your chords fall into their appropriate major, minor or diminished keys. But be mindful of accidentals in your chosen scale! If this step is neglected, your chords won’t work as intended – the circle of fifths provides a great tool to show which accidentals need to be considered when building chords.
E Minor
The E minor chord is one of the most critical, yet underrated chords in guitar’s repertoire. It provides a foundation for creating diverse musical styles and emotions ranging from deep sadness found in blues music to country’s triumphant confidence. This emotional range comes about thanks to one simple change in scales used for building chords: dropping one third down half step creates melancholy minor tones.
The open E minor chord, commonly referred to as Em, is one of the first basic open chords guitarists learn. Due to its placement on the fretboard, its position affords guitarists with lots of flexibility when creating movable chords such as fatter tones by adding low E strings or using second fingers for an augmented voicing (see Example 4a).
E minor 7ths, also known as Em7s, provide another movable chord in E minor. Perfect for adding tension to any melodic line and can be played either with or without 5th interval from root note (see Example 4b), learning barre chords can open up a world of sounds for guitar players!
E Dominant
E dominant chords (commonly referred to as E7 chords) play an integral part in many forms of music, particularly blues and funk. You may also come across E9 (maj7) chords – dominant 7ths with an additional major ninth added on top – see diagrams below for examples.
Dominant seventh chords may have some instability, so they’re usually complemented with another dominant (or minor) seventh or diminished seventh to provide resolution back to their root note or tonic note. You can learn more about how different dominant and minor sevenths function and use in our free downloadable ebook, The Chord Reference.
If a chord contains dots above and below it, that indicates that one or more notes should be played short (staccato). On the contrary, legato indicates smooth playing of those same notes.
If you want to add music theory into your guitar playing, check out our series of articles on The Circle Of Fifths and learning the scales and chords that form each key. By understanding how the notes in a scale work together, it will give you a better grasp of why certain chords fit better with certain songs than others, or why some chords may be harder than others to play – as more knowledge accumulates it becomes easier to pick up new chords quickly and play them on guitar!