Practicing the E Major Chord on the Piano

Learn which notes are part of the E major chord and how to play this chord in root position, 1st inversion, and 2nd inversion on the piano.

Table of Contents

What is the E major Chord on the Piano?

The symbol for the E major chord is E.

The notes of the E chord are E – G# – B.

The E chord is a triad because it has three notes: root (E), major third (G#), and perfect fifth (B).

The picture below shows how to play the notes of the E major chord on the piano in root position:

You can see that the first note from the left is E (the root), the second note is G# (the major third), and the third note is B (the perfect fifth).

Assuming that you are playing the E chord in root position the lowest note is E.

Here is how to remember the notes of the E major chord:

Start from the first note of the chord (the root) that for the E major chord is E.
To find the second note of the chord calculate a major third from the root (G#).
Then to find the third note of the chord calculate the perfect fifth from the root (B).

This applies if you are playing the E major chord in root position.

The 1st inversion of the E chord starts with the note G#.

The picture below shows how to play the notes of the E major chord on the piano in the first inversion:

In the 1st inversion, you shift the root of the E chord (E) one octave higher compared to the root position.

The notes of the E chord in the 1st inversion are G# – B – E.

The 2nd inversion of the E chord starts with the note B.

Below you can see how to play the notes of the second inversion of the E major chord on the piano:

In the 2nd inversion, you also shift the third of the E chord (G#) up one octave.

The notes of the 2nd inversion of the E chord are B – E – G#.

Given that the E chord is a triad (it consists of three notes) there is no 3rd inversion because it would be the same as the root position.

The following articles show you how to play other E chords: