Chords in the Key of E: The 7 Chords, Progressions and Songs

E is the guitar's home key. The lowest open string is E, the highest open string is E, and the E chord uses all six strings at full volume. Countless riffs are built around that open low E, which is why so much rock, blues and metal is in E. It's a powerful, resonant key, with one hurdle for beginners: the B chord.

Here are the seven chords in the key of E, easy ways to play the tricky ones, the progressions and blues forms to know, and how a capo can make E even easier.

The 7 chords in the key of E

The E major scale is E F# G# A B C# D#. Its chords:

Number	Chord	Type	Notes
I	E	Major	E G# B
ii	F#m	Minor	F# A C#
iii	G#m	Minor	G# B D#
IV	A	Major	A C# E
V	B	Major	B D# F#
vi	C#m	Minor	C# E G#
vii°	D#dim	Diminished	D# F# A

E and A are easy open chords. B, F#m and G#m are barre chords in full; C#m has a nice easy open version. Below are the shapes that keep the key playable from day one.

How to play the chords in E

• E (I): all six strings. See the E major chord page.
• F#m (ii): easy four-string version. Full guide: F#m.
• G#m (iii): a four-string shape at the 4th fret: small barre with the index, ring finger on the 6th fret of the D string. Used less often than the other chords.
• A (IV): strum from the A string.
• B (V): the easy four-string version. See how to play the B chord for every option.
• C#m (vi): the easy open shape. Full guide: C#m.
• D#dim (vii°): shown as a dim7, the version usually played on guitar. Mainly a passing chord.

The B7 trick

In many songs in E, especially blues, rock and roll, country and folk, you can play B7 instead of B. It's an open chord with no barre, and its extra note (A) gives it a strong pull back to E.

Play E – A – B7 – E with four strums each and you have the foundation of an enormous number of songs. Turn every chord into a seventh (E7, A7, B7) and you have the sound of the blues.

Blues and rock in E

E is the most popular blues and rock key on guitar because the open low E string lets you play riffs and power chords against a ringing bass note. The 12-bar blues in E, one chord per bar:

Bars 1–4	Bars 5–8	Bars 9–12
E7 – E7 – E7 – E7	A7 – A7 – E7 – E7	B7 – A7 – E7 – B7

Swap the open chords for E5, A5 and B5 power chords and add a shuffle, and you're playing rock and roll. Our guides to the 12-bar blues and power chords show how.

Common progressions in E

Progression	Numbers	Feel
E – A – B – E	I – IV – V – I	Rock, blues, country
E – B – C#m – A	I – V – vi – IV	Modern pop
E – C#m – A – B	I – vi – IV – V	Classic ballads
C#m – A – E – B	vi – IV – I – V	Emotional pop-rock
F#m – B – E	ii – V – I	Endings, jazzier pop
E – D – A – E	I – ♭VII – IV – I	Classic rock
E – G – A – E	I – ♭III – IV – I	Hard rock with a borrowed G

The last two borrow chords from outside the key (D and G). That "borrowed chord" sound is everywhere in rock. Our guide to guitar chord progressions explains more.

Making the key of E easier with a capo

If the barre chords in E are holding you back, a capo turns them into open shapes:

Chord in E	Capo on 2 (D shapes)	Capo on 4 (C shapes)
E	D	C
F#m	Em	Dm
A	G	F
B	A	G
C#m	Bm	Am

The capo on 2 is usually the easiest: the whole I – IV – V becomes D – G – A. With the capo on 4, you get the bright "C shapes" sound, though F returns as a challenge. See our guide on how to use a capo.

The relative minor: C# minor

E major's relative minor is C# minor. Songs in C# minor use the same chords but center on C#m, often swapping G#m for G# or G#7 to pull back home. C#m is also the chord that gives so many songs in E their bittersweet moments: listen to how E – C#m – A – B sounds compared with E – A – B.

How to practice the key of E

1. Start with E, A and B7. One-minute changes, then E – A – B7 – E in rhythm.
2. Play the 12-bar blues with E7, A7 and B7, then with power chords.
3. Add C#m: E – C#m – A – B7.
4. Learn easy B and use it instead of B7 in pop progressions like E – B – C#m – A.
5. Add F#m: F#m – B – E.

Keep it steady with our online metronome, and tune often: E chords use every string, so tuning problems are easy to hear. Our guitar tuner is free.

Related keys

E shares four chords with A (E, A, C#m, F#m) and four with B (E, B, C#m, G#m). For the other great rock key, see chords in the key of A. For the darker side of the same open strings, see chords in the key of E minor.

Soloing in the key of E

• E minor pentatonic (E, G, A, B, D) in open position: the classic blues and rock sound, using open strings plus frets 2 and 3. It's often the first scale guitarists learn, and it fits blues and rock in E perfectly.
• E major pentatonic (E, F#, G#, B, C#): brighter and sweeter, for country and pop. It shares its notes with C# minor pentatonic, so the minor pentatonic box at the 9th fret works.

Blues players switch between the two for a mix of grit and sweetness. See the blues scale and the minor pentatonic for the shapes.

Common mistakes in the key of E

• An E chord that sounds sad instead of bright: check that your index finger is pressing the G string at the 1st fret (G#). If that string is open, you're playing Em.
• Stopping at the B chord: use B7 or easy B and keep the song moving.
• Overplaying the low E string: in riffs, mute it with your palm between notes so it doesn't ring over everything.
• Out-of-tune low E: every E chord uses it. Tune it carefully with our guitar tuner.

Writing riffs in E

A simple way to write a rock riff: play the open low E string twice, then a couple of notes from the E minor pentatonic scale, such as the low E string at the 3rd fret or the A string at the 2nd fret, then return to the open E. Repeat with small changes. Over a riff like that, the chords E, A and B (or E5, A5 and B5) fit naturally. Our guide to palm muting shows how to make riffs tight and punchy.

Quick reference

• Main chords: E, A, B (or B7), C#m.
• Supporting chords: F#m, G#m.
• Blues: E7, A7, B7.
• Easiest capo option: capo 2 with D, G, A, Bm shapes.
• Relative minor: C#m.

Practicing the B7 change

The change from E to B7 is the one that trips up most players in this key. Two tips help: first, your middle finger plays the A string at the 2nd fret in both chords, so keep it there as an anchor and move the other fingers around it. Second, practice the change in both directions for one minute at a time, strumming once per chord, and count your clean changes. Most players double their score within a week. Our drills on how to change chords faster include more anchor-finger tricks like this.

Fretwork's path teaches E and A in its free first stages and the blues sevenths soon after, then adds barre chords like B when your hand is ready. The first two stages are free, no card required.

Frequently asked questions