Chord progressions in E major

Which chords belong together in E major, and what is built from them: the seven diatonic chords and 13 common progressions, each written out.

The chords of E major

Almost every song in this key is built from these seven. The roman numeral says which degree of the scale the chord stands on — upper case for major, lower case for minor.

Degree	Chord	Type
I	E	major
ii	F#m	minor
iii	G#m	minor
IV	A	major
V	B	major
vi	C#m	minor
vii°	D#dim	diminished

13 progressions in E major

I–V–vi–IVE – B – C#m – AThe four chords vi–IV–I–VC#m – A – E – BThe same four, starting minor I–vi–IV–VE – C#m – A – BThe fifties progression ii–V–IF#m7 – B7 – Emaj7The jazz cadence I–IV–VE – A – BThe three primary chords I–I–I–I–IV–IV–I–I–V–IV–I–VE7 – A7 – E7 – B7 – A7 – E7 – B7The twelve-bar blues I–V–vi–iii–IV–I–IV–VE – B – C#m – G#m – A – E – A – BThe Pachelbel canon I–vi–ii–VEmaj7 – C#m7 – F#m7 – B7The turnaround I–♭VII–IVE – D – AThe Mixolydian turn I–iii–IV–VE – G#m – A – BThe rising progression I–IV–I–VE – A – E – BThe alternating progression vi–V–IV–VC#m – B – A – BThe lamenting progression I–V–IV–VE – B – A – BThe rock loop

Neighbouring keys

B majorA majorC# minor

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Every note on this page is computed, not typed in — following the rule that also makes F# major spell its seventh degree E#, not F.