E minor
E minor is a key of the tonal family minor, which is built on the root note e. The key of E minor is written in musical notation with a cross (F sharp). The corresponding scale and the fundamental chord of this key (the tonic E-G-H) are also designated with the term E minor.
This key is often said to have a plaintive, sad, mystical character, but see the article Key Character.
Classical music includes Haydn's "Funeral Symphony", the "Crucifixus" from Bach's Mass BWV 232 and Beethoven's Sonata op. 90 in E minor.
In guitar-heavy rock music (such as blues, punk music or heavy metal), E minor is the most common key for purely practical reasons: the guitar's basic tuning is E, and it takes minimal fingering to play a round-sounding basic E minor chord.
Key classification
| Keys and their accidentals | |||||||||||||||
| Portent: | 7 ♭ | 6 ♭ | 5 ♭ | 4 ♭ | 3 ♭ | 2 ♭ | 1 ♭ | 0 ♭/♯ | 1 ♯ | 2 ♯ | 3 ♯ | 4 ♯ | 5 ♯ | 6 ♯ | 7 ♯ |
| Major keys: | Ces | Ges | Des | As | It | B | F | C | G | D | A | E | H | F# | C sharp |
| Minor keys: | as | it | b | f | c | g | d | a | e | h | F# | cis | gis | dis | ais |
Questions and Answers
Q: What is E minor?
A: E minor (Em, Mim) is a minor scale based on the note E.
Q: How many sharps are in its key signature?
A: Its key signature has one sharp, F♯.
Q: What is the relative major of E minor?
A: The relative major of E minor is G major.
Q: Why is it popular for classical guitar music?
A: It is popular for classical guitar music because this key is very suited for the instrument. When it is tuned normally, four of the instrument's six strings are part of the tonic chord.
Q: Why does it have popularity in heavy metal music?
A: It has popularity in heavy metal music because the lowest note on a guitar, E, can be used a lot.
Q: Who was known to use this key often?
A: Felix Mendelssohn was known to use this key often.
