Guitar · major
E Chord on Guitar
E Major is E, G#, B — the 1-3-5 pattern of a major chord. There are 4 ways to play it on guitar, ranked below from easiest to hardest.
Good news: E has an open shape on guitar, so you can play it without barring anything. Start there and work up the neck later.
Start here — Open Position
Open shape — open strings ring right through it and there is nothing to barre. If you only learn one, learn this one.
Easier ways to play it — 4 shapes, easiest first
Same chord in all of them. What changes is how much your hand has to do and where on the neck it sits.
Open Position Way 1 of 4
Open Position
Easiest here· beginner· the standard shape
Open shape — open strings ring right through it and there is nothing to barre. If you only learn one, learn this one.
D Shape (2nd fret) Way 2 of 4
D Shape (2nd fret)
intermediate
Fingered low on the neck with no barre — a useful middle step between the open shape and the movable ones.
C Shape (4th fret) Way 3 of 4
C Shape (4th fret)
intermediate
Barre at fret 4 — harder to hold than an open shape, but movable: slide it and you have every other major chord.
A Shape Barre (7th fret) Way 4 of 4
A Shape Barre (7th fret)
intermediate
Barre at fret 7 — the same movable idea, further up the neck: brighter, more compact, and easier to reach if you are already playing up there.
What beginners get wrong
Moving in and out of it
The shape above: Open Position — open position, so several strings ring unfretted.
Where you will meet it: E Major (I), A Major (V), B Major (IV), G# Minor (VI), C# Minor (III).
Listening: each shape above has its own play button, and each one plays the notes that shape actually produces — not a generic triad.
Songs that turn on this chord
- Sweet Home AlabamaLynyrd Skynyrdverse — third chord
- Folsom Prison BluesJohnny Cashverse — opening chord
- Twist and ShoutThe Beatlesverse
- Way MakerSinachverse — tonic
E on other instruments
Same notes, different hands. Every link below is a real page with diagrams and audio.
Chords next door
Same root, different colour — and all of them playable on guitar.
E on Guitar — questions people ask
What is the easiest way to play E on guitar?
“Open Position” — which we rate beginner — is the easiest E shape on guitar. Open shape — open strings ring right through it and there is nothing to barre. If you only learn one, learn this one.
What notes are in the E Major chord?
E Major is E, G#, B — the 1-3-5 interval pattern of a major chord. Every voicing on this page uses those notes and nothing else; they just appear in a different order and octave.
How many ways can you play E on guitar?
This page has 4 E voicings for guitar, ranked from easiest to hardest: Open Position, D Shape (2nd fret), C Shape (4th fret), A Shape Barre (7th fret). They all sound like E; the differences are how hard they are to hold and how high they sit.
What can I play instead of E?
The nearest stand-ins on guitar that keep the same root are E5, Esus4, Esus2. They keep the root and the fifth and only change what sits in the middle, so most songs still work — but check the swap against the melody, because the note you removed may be the one the tune is singing.
Can I play E on other instruments?
Yes. E is the same set of notes everywhere; only the fingering changes. This site has diagrams and audio for it on piano, ukulele, bass, mandolin, banjo.
Learn the theory behind E
The shape gets your fingers there. These explain why it sounds the way it does.
Chord Progressions Explained
Major triads are the building blocks. This is how they get strung into songs.
7 min read
Major and Minor Scales — Built from Intervals, Felt in Songs
Where the three notes come from, and why the stack sounds bright.
5 min read
Key Signatures: Read Any Key in Two Seconds
Every key this chord sits in, and the signature that gives it away.
6 min read