E Chord on Guitar
E = E – G# – B (Root, Major 3rd, Perfect 5th)
E major is the one open chord that uses every string on the guitar, 0-2-2-1-0-0, and its fingering is simple enough that many players learn it before C or D. Two fingers land next to each other in the middle of the chord — one on the second fret of the A string, one on the second fret of the D string — and a third finger rounds the shape out on the first fret of the G string, leaving the remaining three open strings free to ring around them untouched. Because the guitar's lowest string is tuned to E, this chord's root sits right at the instrument's absolute floor, and with all six strings ringing simultaneously it's the biggest, fullest-sounding major chord in open position.
That low, full-bodied ring is exactly why E major is a cornerstone of rock, blues and roots guitar — it has real low-end weight that thinner chords like D or A simply can't match, and it's the natural home key for standard-tuned electric guitar riffing since so much lead vocabulary sits comfortably around the open low E. Home in its own four-sharp key, it anchors a huge amount of guitar-centric repertoire, and it does equally common duty as B major's fourth-degree chord and A major's dominant, where E resolving down to A is a foundational cadence. E major is also the shape every other major chord's E-shape barre voicing is built from, making it arguably the single most structurally important chord shape on the instrument — everything from F to B, played as a barre, is really just this exact fingering picked up and moved. It's also the reference chord many tuners and setup guides use to check intonation across the whole neck, since a clean-sounding open E with all six strings ringing is a quick, reliable indicator that a guitar is properly in tune.
Fingerings
Open Position
How to Practice It
Because all three fretting fingers sit on adjacent strings at similar frets, the main challenge is keeping them from crowding each other and accidentally muting a neighboring open string — arch each finger so only its tip contacts the string, letting the low E, B and high e ring completely clear underneath and around them. E major is also the foundation shape for barre chords: once it's solid, practice sliding the exact same three-finger shape up the neck while adding an index-finger barre behind it, which is the literal mechanism behind every movable E-shape major barre chord covered elsewhere in this chord library. Because no finger has to mute or avoid any string, E major is also a good chord for practicing pure strumming-hand dynamics — try the same chord at three very different volumes without ever touching the fretting hand, to isolate exactly how much of your tone comes from the strumming arm alone. Try playing the same shape while gradually reducing pick or finger attack from a hard strum to a soft one, listening for the point where the chord stops ringing clearly — that threshold is useful information about your guitar's own setup and string gauge.
Common Progressions
- I–IV–V in E major: E – A – B
- V–I in A major: E – A
- I–V–vi–IV in E major: E – B – C#m – A
FAQ
- Why does E major sound bigger than other open chords?
- It's the only common open chord that uses all six strings simultaneously, and because the guitar's lowest string is tuned to E, the chord's root note rings at the instrument's absolute lowest pitch — that combination of full string count and low-end weight gives it more perceived size than thinner voicings like D or A.
- Is E major the easiest chord on guitar?
- It's frequently cited as one of the two or three easiest, alongside E minor and G major — the three fretting fingers sit close together in a natural hand shape and no string needs to be muted, which is why many teaching methods introduce it in the first lesson.
- How does E major relate to barre chords?
- It's the template: every 'E-shape' barre chord elsewhere on the neck (F major, G major played as a barre, and so on) is this exact same three-finger shape, just moved up the fretboard with an index-finger barre added behind it to replace the open strings.
- Why is E major often the first chord taught on electric guitar specifically?
- It needs no muting, sounds full and satisfying even played badly, and directly sets up the E-shape barre technique used constantly in rock rhythm and lead playing, making it unusually efficient as a foundation chord for electric-focused beginners.
E on other instruments: E on Piano, E on Ukulele. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.