This month we take a look at the E major chord and find some variations that can spice up your chord sequences.
E major is one of the easiest chords to play on the , and as the lowest pitched major chord in standard tuning it carries considerable heft. It’s worth noting that the fingering is the same as A minor (which we looked at last month), but the fingers move one string over towards the bass side. Keep your index finger pointing straight at the so that it doesn’t accidentally mute the open B string.
E is a great key for heavier, rock song writing, though the downside is that most of the chords in the key will require a barre. Only chord IV, A major, is available as an open string chord. This hasn’t stopped artists as diverse as Fleetwood Mac (
Natural Harmonics Map
The notes of E major are E, G sharp and B. There are many ways to play E on the , and the basic chord can be adapted easily to include sevenths, sixths, added nine and sus4 variations. Have fun working on these chords – we’ll see you next month.
Play the basic chord and hammer-on with finger one – it’s a commonly used blues trick. Then hammer-on with any of the other fingers too, or even all three at once. Also try using your thumb to play the low E in a steady beat and your fingers to play the top three strings in a cross rhythm.
E is a cool key, but you might not always want that heavy open E string. Four-string chords are lighter in texture, easier to play, and can be moved around more quickly. We like them a lot. This one is in root position.
What Guitar Notes Sound Good Together?
Staying with four-string chords, we’ve moved up the neck to the fourth fret to make an E major chord with G sharp in the bass. We would call this a first inversion, because the third of the chord is in the bass.
Up at the seventh fret we get E with B in the bass, which is a second inversion, because the fifth of the chord is in the bass. If you are ever stuck playing an E chord for a long time, try moving between these different inversions to create a more interesting part.
Returning to the basic shape, if you release finger three you introduce the open D string into the chord, creating an E7 chord. This is a “dominant” chord, chord V7 in either A or A minor. Try switching back and forth between these chords to hear the effect of chord V resolving to chord I.
Guitar Notation Basics
The sixth, C sharp, doesn’t fit so well under the fingers in the low octave, so we’ve moved it up an octave to the B string. Try strumming while you add and release finger 4 so you alternate between E and E6. Can you play E with the low C♯ instead? It’ll be on the A string.
We like the sound of interesting notes added to a chord in the lower octave, as they seem more mellow. Here, we’ve added D sharp, making an E major seven chord. Try E followed by Emaj7 and E7 and then moving on to A Major. Or another chord – see what works!
Added ninths sound great alternating with the plain major chord, giving you another way of creating interest with a strummed E major. Eadd9 just adds the note F sharp, but E9 would include the seventh as well. Try it, using E7 as the starting point.
Guitar Fretboard Octaves In Relation To Piano Octaves Visual I Made To Help Myself Learn The Fretboard Better
Sus chords (short for suspended) replace the third of the chord with either the fourth or the second, so here we have the note A (the fourth) added to make Esus4. This also works well alternating with the E chord. Esus2 is a tricky one and doesn’t fit under the fingers so easily.
Here we’ve added the seventh (D) in the upper octave together with the sharp nine which could be called F double-sharp, but we’ve called it G. It’s a chord which has both the major and minor third, and it’s a powerful beast when you add some crunch. It’s not easy, because you have to stop two strings with your fourth finger, but it’s worth it. Rock on!
Rod Fogg is a London-based ist, teacher and writer. He is the author of The Ultimate Course (Race Point 2014), the Electric Handbook (Backbeat, 2009) and contributed to bestseller The Totally Interactive Bible (Jawbone Publishing, 2006).The chord of E is one of the most fundamental guitar chords of all. (It’s full name is “E Major” but most people just call it, “E”.) It crops up in most styles of music, but is most widely used in blues and rock music.
Notes On Guitar — Guitar Music Theory Lessons By Ry Naylor
(If you don't understand the above image please read our article How To Read Guitar Chordboxes In 60 Seconds. It will make everything clear!)
Playing E major on the guitar isn’t super-difficult, this is a medium difficulty chord. It’s straightforward to strum correctly as you simply play all 6 strings. (No need to worry about missing out any strings out here, phew!)
However, beginner guitarists will still find it challenging to play as it requires 3 fingers and in the early days of learning guitar you simply won’t have the accuracy and finger dexterity required to play this chord shape quickly.
Notes On Guitar Fretboard: Middle C On Guitar
There’s a couple of easy ways to play an E chord. As always, it’s a trade off between simplicity and sound quality. Take your pick from the list below!
This is the best all round option, offering the strongest balance between playability and sound quality. This chord is E7, a version of E that sounds great and is easier to play than E major because it only requires 2 fingers. All things considered, this is the best version of E to learn if you’re struggling to play a full E.
This is a super-simple way to play E. It’s ideal for children or adults with small hands. It doesn’t sound great though, so it’s not my number 1 recommendation.
E Chord On Guitar: Chord Shapes, Major Scale & Songs In The Key Of E
As you can see, with this version you should only play strings 1-3. This can leave the chord sounding a little thin, but it’s still an E chord and a great alternative if you can’t manage to play a full E major chord.
A powerful 2-finger version of E is called “E5”. This is a Power Chord and is a great bass-heavy option that’s ideal for rock, heavy blues, punk and metal. It looks like this:
Important – note that with this chord you are only playing strings 4, 5 and 6. It is essential that you don’t play any more strings than this, otherwise this chord will no longer be an E5. (It will turn into E minor, and have a very different sound.)
Standard Guitar Tuning
This is one of the best ways to fudge E major on guitar. It sounds similar to E major (because it’s the top half of E major!) but it’s easier to play because the finger shape is simple. (The finger shape is E minor – but we’re only playing strings 4-6, so we don’t hear the ‘minor’ part of the chord, hence, it becomes E5.)
This chord sounds incredibly badass on an electric guitars with a distorted or overdriven channel. It doesn’t sound as good on an acoustic guitar, but it still does the job and works well in blues and roots-based songs.
These three notes are technically not chords, as they’re just individual notes. They’re very easy to play as they only require 1 finger, but of course they don’t sound very full. Even so, these 3 are good options for children, total beginners, people with learning difficulties and beginner bass players.
How To Tune A Guitar
Learn how everything fits together quickly, easily and effectively. We share ninja tips (for instant fun!) but also timeless fundamentals that will deepen your understanding.
0 Response to "E Note On Guitar Sound"
Posting Komentar