E in E major
In E major, E is E (natural)
In E major, E is E (natural)The key signature of E major does not alter E, so it stays natural.
Is E sharp or flat in E major?
In E major, E is natural: the key signature has four sharps, F♯, C♯, G♯ and D♯, and none of them falls on E, so you play the plain E unless a written accidental says otherwise.
The signature of E major is four sharps, F♯, C♯, G♯ and D♯. It alters only F, C, G and D, so E is left alone.
Spelled from the tonic, the E major scale runs E, F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯, D♯ — one of each letter, each carrying whatever the signature gives it. The staff above draws the E major signature and the note E inside it — exactly as you would meet it in a piece written in this key.
Every letter in E major
E major has four sharps, F♯, C♯, G♯ and D♯. That fixes what each of the seven letters is called in this key:
- C is C♯
- D is D♯
- E is E (natural — the signature leaves it alone) — the letter on this page
- F is F♯
- G is G♯
- A is A (natural — the signature leaves it alone)
- B is B (natural — the signature leaves it alone)
Related keys
E major shares its signature with its relative C♯ minor — the same sharps or flats, so E is natural there too.
Frequently asked questions
- Is E sharp or flat in E major?
- No. E major has four sharps, F♯, C♯, G♯ and D♯ — none of them on E, so E is natural in this key.
- What accidental does E carry in E major?
- E stays natural. The signature of E major is four sharps, F♯, C♯, G♯ and D♯. It alters only F, C, G and D, so E is left alone.
- What sharps or flats are in E major?
- E major has four sharps, F♯, C♯, G♯ and D♯ — written in that order at the start of the staff.
- How is the E major scale spelled?
- From the tonic up: E, F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯, D♯. Each letter appears once, carrying whatever the key signature gives it.