E major chordson the Irish bouzouki, GDAE tuning

Common progressions

• I – IV – I – V: E – A – E – B (a plain backing for many reels and jigs)
• I – V – I: E – B – E (polkas and simple tunes)
• I – vi – IV – V: E – C♯m – A – B (a B part that wanders, or a song)

Basis: DADGAD Guitar blog (2009), the Chiff & Fipple forum, and common session practice: most major-key tunes use I, IV and V; vi now and then.

The seven chords in E major

1. I E1 2 2 0
2. ii F♯m2 4 4 2
3. iii G♯m1 1 2 x
4. IV A2 2 4 0
5. V Bx 1 2 2
6. vi C♯mx 2 4 4
7. vii° D♯dimx 1 0 2

Other modes on E

Other major keys

E major in other tunings

All Irish bouzouki GDAE chords · Printable chart (PDF) · The app