slash chord · E root
E/G# chord
- G#3
- E1
- B5
- E1
- G#3
- B5
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The E over G# chord is built from the notes G#, E, B, E, G#, B. It turns up 1 times in the 80 songs on this site, including The Weight.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the E/G# chord?
The E/G# chord (E over G#) is a slash chord built from six notes: G#, E, B, E, G#, B — the 1–3–5 of the E scale, 4 semitones and 7 semitones above the root. On guitar it is most often played in open position (4-2-2-1-0-0) with 4 fingers while 2 strings ring open. It is rated beginner — most players learn it in their first weeks. The same triad with a different note placed in the bass, so the chord keeps its identity while the lowest voice walks underneath it. It is one of the most-used chords in this site's library: across the 80 song sheets charted here, E/G# appears 1 times in 1 song, most often in the key of A. Below you will find step-by-step fingering, audio of every shape, and the real progressions this chord lives inside.
How do you play the E/G# chord on guitar?
Open position — the easiest version of E/G# on the guitar.
- Press the low E string at fret 4 with your pinky finger.
- Press the A string at fret 2 with your middle finger.
- Press the D string at fret 2 with your ring finger.
- Press the G string at fret 1 with your index finger.
- Strum all six strings and let every one ring.
If it buzzes, the usual cause is a fingertip sitting in the middle of the fret space instead of just behind the wire. Move the whole hand a few millimetres toward the bridge and the buzz usually disappears without any extra pressure. 4-2-2-1-0-0
How do you make E/G# sound clean?
E/G# gets played as a fresh barre when it is really E with one note moved: the low E string goes up to G# at fret 4, the other five strings stay exactly as they are.
E → E/G# → A: hold the E shape and move a single finger. The Weight uses precisely this walk-up under the chorus.
In real songs
What songs use the E/G# chord?
- chord changes
- 1
- songs
- 1
- common keys
- A
Across the 80 chord sheets on this site, E/G# appears 1 time in 1 song — most often in the key of A.
GDCE/G#
Chord flow
What chord comes after E/G#?
Those figures are counted from the 80 chord sheets on this site, so they describe what songwriters actually played rather than what theory says should come next.
E/G# arrives from
- C1×
The theory behind E/G#
E/G# is spelled G# – E – B – E – G# – B — the 1 – 3 – 5 of the E scale, which is the root plus 4 semitones, 7 semitones. The same triad with a different note placed in the bass, so the chord keeps its identity while the lowest voice walks underneath it.
The letter after the slash is a bass note, not a new chord. E/G# is the same E shape with one low string fretted differently, which is how a bass line walks underneath a chord that is not moving.
What key is the E/G# chord in?
E/G# is the E major triad with G# in the bass, so it stands in for the same three chords: the I in E major, the IV in B major and the V in A major.
the home chord — songs resolve here
the subdominant — the chord that leaves home
the dominant — the chord that pulls back home
E/G# on other instruments
G# – E – B – E – G# – B — the highlighted black keys are the sharps or flats; play each note once, then move them into one hand position.
Take it to the practice room
