How to play E (E Major) on Bass
Diagram, notes, and audio for the E chord on bass. Free in your browser.
About E on bass
E major on bass is the lowest possible chord position — the open low E string is the chord's root, and the fifth (B) sits on the 2nd fret of the A string. No fretting required for the root note. This is the home position of countless rock, blues, and country bass lines, and it is the first chord every electric bass beginner plays.
E is the I chord in E major (four sharps), the IV in B major, and the V in A major. Twelve-bar blues in E is one of the most-played forms in popular music, and the bass line — alternating E-B-E-B with periodic visits to A and the major 6th (C#) — sits entirely in the bass's lowest, most ergonomic positions.
Famous E-major bass lines include the rolling shuffle of countless ZZ Top songs, the locked-down grooves of John Lee Hooker tracks, and the pumping eighth-notes of stadium rock from AC/DC to Bon Jovi. Because the open low E provides the root for free, players can focus their attention on the right hand — plucking, picking, slapping — rather than the left hand's pitch placement.
Frequently asked questions
- Is E major easy on bass?
- Yes — it's the easiest chord on the instrument because the root is the open low E string. No fretting required for the chord's foundation.
- What's the most-used E-major bass line?
- The classic blues shuffle: open E (root), 2nd fret of A (B, the 5th), open E, 2nd fret of A — repeated in a swung rhythm. The starting point for thousands of songs.
- What's the difference between E major and E minor on bass?
- On a two-note bass shape (root + fifth), there's no audible difference — both use E and B. The difference appears only when the bass plays the chord's third (G# for major, G for minor) or follows an arpeggiated line.
Switch instruments
See E on a different instrument — same chord, new diagram.