E major

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E major

Relative key	C♯minor
Parallel key	E minor
Enharmonic
Component pitches
E, F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯, D♯, E

Also see: E minor, or E-flat major.

E major is a major scale based on E, with the pitches E, F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯, and D♯. Its key signature has four sharps (see below: Scales and keys).

Its relative minor is C-sharp minor, and its parallel minor is E minor.

Only two of Haydn's 104 symphonies are in E major, No. 12 and No. 29. Even in the 19th Century, symphonies in this key were rare, with Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 being one of very few examples. "The key of E major is frequently associated with music of contemplation."^[1]

Two symphonies that begin in D minor and end in E major are Havergal Brian's Gothic Symphony and Nielsen's Symphony No. 4 in D minor.

More typically, however, some symphonies that begin in E minor switch to E major for the finale, such as Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony no. 5 and Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10.

Johann Sebastian Bach composed a violin concerto in this key, Violin Concerto in E major.

Though it is a difficult key for wind instruments, it is acceptable for orchestral strings, and quite suitable for the guitar. If available, clarinets in A should be used instead of clarinets in B-flat; the A clarinets would be written in G major, while the B-flats would be written in F-sharp or G-flat major.

The bells of Big Ben (the Westminster Quarters) are tuned to the key of E major (the notes E, B, G-sharp and F-sharp).

[edit] Well-known popular songs in this key

• The Best of Me - Bryan Adams
• Bigger Than My Body - John Mayer
• California (Theme from The OC) - Phantom Planet
• Change the World - Eric Clapton
• Dare You to Move - Switchfoot
• East Side - Smoother
• Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car - Billy Ocean (also in F major)
• Got My Mind Set On You - George Harrison
• Heart of Glass - Blondie
• Let Me Go - 3 Doors Down
• Money Honey - State of Shock
• My Sweet Lord - George Harrison (also in F-sharp major)
• No One - Alicia Keys
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl Theme - Nobuo Uematsu
• Trip - Hedley
• Wonderful - Chantal Kreviazuk

See also: List of symphonies in E major

[edit] References

1. ^ Philip Barford, Bruckner Symphonies Seattle: University of Washington Press (1978): 52

v • d • e Diatonic Scales and Keys
	flats sharps major minor major minor 0 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♯
lower case letters are minor the table indicates the number of sharps or flats in each scale