The key of E major on mandolin
E F♯ G♯ A B C♯ D♯ — and everything inside it.
The key of E major on mandolin: the scale, the chord on every degree, the seventh chords and the pentatonics — drawn above, each a tap away. The row of chips over the mandolin is the key’s chords; the dropdown switches it to seventh chords or pentatonics, the shape menu draws a chord as one grip at a time, and a tap on any note finds the chords that hold it. For the why, read chords in a key.
The notes of E major
E major is E F♯ G♯ A B C♯ D♯: the major scale on E, seven notes, labeled 1 to 7 on the mandolin above. The scale on its own, in every position, is on its page.
The chords in E major
The triad on each degree, stacked from the key’s own notes; the numeral’s case is the chord’s quality. The explorer above draws the six you can rest on.
| Degree | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I | E | E G♯ B |
| ii | F♯m | F♯ A C♯ |
| iii | G♯m | G♯ B D♯ |
| IV | A | A C♯ E |
| V | B | B D♯ F♯ |
| vi | C♯m | C♯ E G♯ |
| vii° | D♯° — passed through, not rested on | D♯ F♯ A |
The seventh chords in E major
One more third on each — the row on “Tetrads” above.
| Degree | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Imaj7 | Emaj7 | E G♯ B D♯ |
| ii7 | F♯m7 | F♯ A C♯ E |
| iii7 | G♯m7 | G♯ B D♯ F♯ |
| IVmaj7 | Amaj7 | A C♯ E G♯ |
| V7 | B7 | B D♯ F♯ A |
| vi7 | C♯m7 | C♯ E G♯ B |
| viiø7 | D♯m7♭5 — passed through, not rested on | D♯ F♯ A C♯ |
The pentatonics in E major
The five-note scale on each degree that fits inside the key — major where the degree’s chord is major, minor where it is minor. The row on “Pentatonics” above.
| Degree | Scale | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I | E pent | E F♯ G♯ B C♯ |
| ii | F♯m pent | F♯ A B C♯ E |
| iii | G♯m pent | G♯ B C♯ D♯ F♯ |
| IV | A pent | A B C♯ E F♯ |
| V | B pent | B C♯ D♯ F♯ G♯ |
| vi | C♯m pent | C♯ E F♯ G♯ B |
| vii | D♯m pent — not in the key | D♯ F♯ G♯ B♭ C♯ |
The same notes from another home
Relative minor: D♭ minor; Its dorian mode: F♯ dorian; Its phrygian mode: A♭ phrygian; Its lydian mode: A lydian; Its mixolydian mode: B mixolydian. Parallel minor, the same root with different notes: E minor.