E chord on guitar

E is the E major chord, made of the notes E G# B. Most guitarists play it as 0 2 2 1 0 0, an open chord. Below are all 6 ways to hold E on the guitar, from the lowest on the neck to the highest, and the same chord in Drop D and DADGAD. The TabTunix app plays each one. Check out our full chord library.

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1fr231
E

0 2 2 1 0 0

Notes

Degrees: R 3 5. Notes: E G# B.

Tuning

Inversions

Voicings

How to play E

The shape most players use is 0 2 2 1 0 0, from the lowest string to the highest. Hold it like this:

  1. Put your middle finger on the A string at fret 2.
  2. Put your ring finger on the D string at fret 2.
  3. Put your index finger on the G string at fret 1.
  4. Let the low E, B and high E strings ring open.
1fr231
E
0 2 2 1 0 0

6 ways to play E

Every shape the chord library holds for E in standard tuning, from low on the neck to high. In each one E is the lowest note; they differ in where your hand sits and in which strings ring.

More shapes, for every chord: all guitar chords.

  • 1fr231
    E
    0 2 2 1 0 0
    open shape
  • 2fr1243
    E
    X X 2 4 5 4
    closed shape at fret 2
  • 4fr432
    E
    X 7 6 4 5 4
    barre at fret 4
  • 7fr234
    E
    X 7 9 9 9 7
    barre at fret 7
  • 9fr324
    E
    12 11 9 9 9 12
    barre at fret 9
  • 12fr342
    E
    12 14 14 13 12 12
    barre at fret 12

The notes in E

R35
EG#B

A major chord is the root, the major third and the fifth: R 3 5.

Put another of its notes in the bass and E becomes an inversion, written with a slash: E/G# and E/B. Below, the first shape of each.

  • 2fr234
    E/G#
    4 2 2 4 5 X
  • 1fr231
    E/B
    X 2 2 1 0 0

Keys and progressions with E

E is one of the chords of these keys, with its number in each. The chords of a key are the chords built on the notes of its scale.

  • I in E major
  • V in A major
  • IV in B major
  • bIII in C# minor
  • bVII in F# minor
  • bVI in G# minor

It stands in these chord progressions of the app, in the key each opens in:

  • I–IV–V–IV in A major: A, D, E
  • Andalusian Cadence in A minor: Am, G, F, E
  • Minor Cadence in A minor: Am, Dm, E

E in Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD

  • In Drop D, E is 2 2 2 1 0 0, where Standard has 0 2 2 1 0 0.
  • In Drop C, E is 4 4 4 3 2 2, where Standard has 0 2 2 1 0 0.
  • In Drop B, E is 5 5 5 4 3 3, where Standard has 0 2 2 1 0 0.
  • In DADGAD, E is X X 2 1 2 2, where Standard has 0 2 2 1 0 0.

More on each tuning: Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD, all under guitar tunings.

  • 1fr2341
    E in Drop D
    2 2 2 1 0 0
  • 1fr2
    E in Drop C
    4 4 4 3 2 2
  • 3fr2
    E in Drop B
    5 5 5 4 3 3
  • 1fr2134
    E in DADGAD
    X X 2 1 2 2

Get the change up to tempo

A chord is yours when you can change to it in time. In TabTunix, put E and the chord before it into a chord-change exercise, set a target tempo, and play the change to a click that counts you through it. Rate each take, and the app keeps your best tempo, so you see it climb.

More on how to change chords faster.

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Questions about E

E, G# and B. As degrees they are R 3 5: the root, the major third and the fifth.