E-shape Major Chord

The E major shape is usually the first barre chord guitarists learn, in order to play the dreaded F major chord.

The core E major shape

This is the standard E major barre chord shape. Notice that the root is on the sixth string (as well as the first and fourth). That's how we know where to place the chord: with the root on a G it's a G major chord, and so on.

As with all barre chords, the first finger lays across the fretboard, where the nut would be in an open E major chord. The first finger should not clamp down across all the strings. Instead, it should curve, and press down only at the tip and base.

Some guitarists also like to play this shape thumb over, T43211, though not everyone seems to be able to do that, and it's easier on some parts of the neck than others.

Alternate E major grips

There are several alternatives to the barre chord grip that can be more convenient or comfortable.

Barre chord "cheat"

A common way to "cheat" at the barre chord is to lift the base of the finger so it mutes the two highest-pitched strings instead of barring them: 1342xx. When we want to hear the higher notes, we can temporarily press down the base of the index finger, then relax it again when it's no longer needed.

This is a great way for beginners to get started. We can practice getting our fingers into position without the hassle of the barre, and in many cases this grip sounds just fine. When we want to hear the higher notes, we can work on pressing down the base of the index finger at that time, as a later effort. Breaking new skills down into chunks like this and mastering one piece at a time is actually the fastest way to learn.

Simple triad with bass

This is my personal favorite grip for the E major shape. It includes a closed voice root position triad on the upper-middle strings (the little diagonal played with fingers 4, 3, and 2), plus the bass note on the sixth string, fingered 1x432x. The fifth and first strings are naturally muted by relaxing the first finger, and the fifth string can also be deliberately muted with the tip of the little finger when necessary.

This voicing sounds clean and clear. It leaves my fingers in places that are convenient for playing riffs and melodies over the chord, and as I get further up the neck toward the bridge, I find it easier to grip than the classic barre chord shape. It's also easy to alternate the little finger between the fourth and fifth strings, to play an alternating bass line.

On occasions when I want to hear the high note, I temporarily move my middle finger over to the first string, naturally muting the second string with my third finger, 1x43x2.

Mini-barre

Another option often used by beginners is to barre just the two highest-pitched strings with the first segment of the first finger, and play the bass note with the second finger, 2xx311. The second finger casually lays across the middle strings to mute them.

From this basic grip, the little finger can optionally alternate between the root on the fourth string and the perfect fifth on the fifth string.

Study and practice

As described in The Right Way to Learn Guitar, when getting started with the following exercises you should be in learning time: you should ignore tempo and focus on doing things perfectly, no matter how slowly or how many times you have to go back and forth over the same thing. Once you've built up some muscle memory, you can work with these exercises in play time: mix things up to make it musical and fun, and make sure to stay in tempo even when you make mistakes.

First, learn the chord grips

Use the exercises described in How to Master New Chord Grips to get comfortable with the chord shapes you want to learn.

Once you have one E major shape mastered, it's helpful to learn at least one variation, and practice switching between them.

Play primary chords along the neck

Practice improvising with the E major shape, changing between the three major primary chords (I, IV and V). It's challenging to change chords across so much distance, but practice slowly and accurately and it will gradually become automatic.

Play the major pentatonic over the E chord

Practice playing the major pentatonic over the E major chord shape, alternating between playing a few notes and strumming the chord. Mix things up to keep it musical and interesting, but focus on landing on the chord tones on downbeats.

See the E-shape major pentatonic lesson for more about playing this scale over the E major chord.