# E Major 7th piano chord (Emaj7)

Emaj7 contains E, G♯, B and D♯. A major triad with the major seventh added on top. G♯ and D♯ are black keys; E and B are white.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/major-7th/e/
- Entity: chord:major-7th:e
- Notes: E G♯ B D♯
- Formula: 1 3 5 7
- Intervals from root: P1, M3, P5, M7
- Interval stack (semitones): 4 3 4
- Also written: Emaj7, Emaj7, E major 7th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | E | Perfect unison | 0 |
| 3 | G♯ | Major third | 4 |
| 5 | B | Perfect fifth | 7 |
| 7 | D♯ | Major seventh | 11 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on E, finger 2 on G♯, finger 3 on B, finger 5 on D♯. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | E | E3 G♯3 B3 D♯4 | 7 | 11 st, 151 mm |
| First inversion (Emaj7/G♯) | G♯ | G♯3 B3 D♯4 E4 | 6/5 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Second inversion (Emaj7/B) | B | B3 D♯4 E4 G♯4 | 4/3 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Third inversion (Emaj7/D♯) | D♯ | D♯4 E4 G♯4 B4 | 4/2 | 8 st, 110 mm |

## Voicings (10)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | E3 G♯3 B3 D♯4 | 11 st, 151 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | G♯3 B3 D♯4 E4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | B3 D♯4 E4 G♯4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, third inversion | D♯4 E4 G♯4 B4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 | B2 E3 G♯3 D♯4 | 16 st, 220 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 3 | G♯2 E3 B3 D♯4 | 19 st, 261 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 and 4 | E2 B2 G♯3 D♯4 | 23 st, 316 mm | identical | none |
| Shell, root 7 3 | E2 D♯3 G♯3 | 16 st, 220 mm | subset | omits B |
| Guide tones, 3 and 7 | G♯3 D♯4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits E and B |
| Rootless close | G♯3 B3 D♯4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits E |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C♯ minor | ♭IIImaj7 | Relative-major color |
| E major | Imaj7 | Tonic, home |
| G♯ minor | ♭VImaj7 | Pre-dominant color |
| B major | IVmaj7 | Subdominant, away from home |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (9)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ♭III, ♭VI, ii, v | C♯ minor | ♭IIImaj7 | Emaj7 to Amaj7 to D♯m7♭5 to G♯m7 | Emaj7 opens the phrase |
| i, ♭III | C♯ minor | ♭IIImaj7 | C♯m7 to Emaj7 | 3 tones held from C♯m7 |
| ii, V, I | E major | Imaj7 | F♯m7 to B7 to Emaj7 | 2 tones held from B7 |
| IV, I | E major | Imaj7 | Amaj7 to Emaj7 | 2 tones held from Amaj7 |
| I, vi, ii, V | E major | Imaj7 | Emaj7 to C♯m7 to F♯m7 to B7 | Emaj7 opens the phrase |
| ♭VI, iv, i, v | G♯ minor | ♭VImaj7 | Emaj7 to C♯m7 to G♯m7 to D♯m7 | Emaj7 opens the phrase |
| i, ♭VI | G♯ minor | ♭VImaj7 | G♯m7 to Emaj7 | 3 tones held from G♯m7 |
| IV, V, I | B major | IVmaj7 | Emaj7 to F♯7 to Bmaj7 | Emaj7 opens the phrase |
| I, IV | B major | IVmaj7 | Bmaj7 to Emaj7 | 2 tones held from Bmaj7 |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Emaj9 | 1 3 5 7 9 | adds F♯ | 4 |
| E | 1 3 5 | drops D♯ | 3 |
| E7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | D♯ becomes D | 3 |
| EmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | G♯ becomes G | 3 |
| E6 | 1 3 5 6 | D♯ becomes C♯ | 3 |
| Eadd9 | 1 3 5 9 | D♯ becomes F♯ | 3 |
| E9 | 1 3 5 ♭7 9 | D♯ becomes D, F♯ | 3 |
| Em | 1 ♭3 5 | G♯, D♯ becomes G | 2 |
| Eaug | 1 3 ♯5 | B, D♯ becomes B♯ | 2 |
| Esus2 | 1 2 5 | G♯, D♯ becomes F♯ | 2 |
| Esus4 | 1 4 5 | G♯, D♯ becomes A | 2 |
| Em7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | G♯, D♯ becomes G, D | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {4, 8, 11, 3}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 4, 7, 11]
- Normal order: [3, 4, 8, 11]
- Prime form: (0158)
- Forte number: 4-20
- Interval vector: <101220>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| E3 | 52 | 164.81 Hz |
| G♯3 | 56 | 207.65 Hz |
| B3 | 59 | 246.94 Hz |
| D♯4 | 63 | 311.13 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in Emaj7?

Emaj7 contains E, G♯, B and D♯. The formula is 1, 3, 5, 7.

### How do you play Emaj7 on piano?

Play E, G♯, B and D♯ together. Right hand fingers 1, 2, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 2, 1. G♯ and D♯ are black keys; E and B are white.

### What are the inversions of Emaj7?

4 positions: root position E G♯ B D♯, Emaj7/G♯, Emaj7/B, Emaj7/D♯.

### What keys contain Emaj7?

4: ♭IIImaj7 in C♯ minor, Imaj7 in E major, ♭VImaj7 in G♯ minor, IVmaj7 in B major.

### What is the difference between Emaj7 and Emaj9?

Adds F♯. 4 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy Emaj7 for small hands?

The guide tones, 3 and 7 voicing, G♯3 D♯4, spans 7 semitones or about 96 mm.

### What are the frequencies of Emaj7?

From E3 at A440 in 12-TET: 164.81, 207.65, 246.94, 311.13 Hz.

### What is the set class of Emaj7?

Prime form (0158), Forte 4-20, interval vector &lt;101220&gt;.

### How do I transpose Emaj7 to another key?

Keep the 1, 3, 5, 7 formula on the new root. Cmaj7 is C, E, G, B; C♯maj7 is C♯, E♯, G♯, B♯.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:major-7th:e
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12