E minor

E minor

Relative key	G major
Parallel key	E major
Dominant key	B minor
Subdominant	A minor
Component pitches
E, F♯, G, A, B, C, D, E

E natural minor scale ascending and descending.  Play 

E harmonic minor scale ascending and descending.  Play 

E melodic minor scale ascending and descending.  Play 

E minor is a minor scale consisting of the pitches E, F♯, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. The E harmonic minor raises the note D to D♯.

Its relative major is G major, and its parallel major is E major.

Much of the classical guitar repertoire is in E minor, as this is a very natural key for the instrument. In standard tuning (E A D G B E), four of the instrument's six open (unfretted) strings are part of the tonic chord. The key of E minor is also popular in heavy metal music, as its tonic is the lowest note on a standard-tuned guitar.

Notable classical compositions in this key

• String quartet Op. 59/2 – Ludwig van Beethoven
• Piano sonata Op. 90 – Ludwig van Beethoven
• Symphony No. 4 – Johannes Brahms
• Cello Sonata No. 1 – Johannes Brahms
• Nocturne in E minor – Frédéric Chopin
• Piano Concerto No. 1 – Frédéric Chopin
• Prelude in E minor – Frédéric Chopin
• Waltz in E minor – Frédéric Chopin
• Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" – Antonín Dvořák
• Slavonic Dance No. 2, Op. 72 – Antonín Dvořák
• Cello Concerto – Edward Elgar
• Sea Pictures – Edward Elgar
• String Quartet – Edward Elgar
• Violin Sonata – Edward Elgar
• Piano Sonata – Edvard Grieg
• Symphony No. 44 "Trauer" – Joseph Haydn
• Cello Concerto No. 2 - Victor Herbert
• Praeludium and Allegro – Fritz Kreisler
• Violin Concerto in E minor – Felix Mendelssohn
• Violin Sonata No. 21 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Caprice No. 3 – Niccolò Paganini
• Caprice No. 15 – Niccolò Paganini
• Montagues and Capulets – Sergei Prokofiev
• Symphony No. 2 – Sergei Rachmaninoff
• Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14 – Sergei Rachmaninoff
• Scheherazade – Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
• Piano Trio No. 2 – Dmitri Shostakovich
• Symphony No. 10 – Dmitri Shostakovich
• Symphony No. 1 – Jean Sibelius
• Symphony No. 5 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
• Symphony No. 6 – Ralph Vaughan Williams
• The Lark Ascending – Ralph Vaughan Williams
• Concerto for Bassoon, Strings, and continuo, RV 484 – Antonio Vivaldi

See also

• Key (music)
• Major and minor
• Chord (music)
• Chord names and symbols (popular music)
• List of symphonies in E minor

External links

• Media related to E minor at Wikimedia Commons

Diatonic scales and keys
	Flats Sharps Major minor Major minor 0 C a C a 1 F d G e 2 B♭ g D b 3 E♭ c A f♯ 4 A♭ f E c♯ 5 D♭ b♭ B g♯ 6 G♭ e♭ F♯ d♯ 7 C♭ a♭ C♯ a♯ 8 F♭ d♭ G♯ e♯
The table indicates the number of sharps or flats in each scale. Minor scales are written in lower case.