The E- Chord - Is there an alternative?

E is for Easy, 1st finger 1st fret, on G string (Roll finger down a whisker to mute C string), 2nd finger on 2nd fret on A string, ...JOB DUN

Depending on song & progression this is E.!! ...for a really lush sound, roll 1st finger down to fret G & C string, adding the C# this is my

Favorite cord, i like C6 alot too.!! ...Hope it helps you, it helped me 30years back.!!
 
Sometimes I play the barre version 4th position (4447) and it's okay with some songs,
and sometimes I just play E7 (1202) which is close enough.
 
Coming from a guitar where the strings are actually closer together, I had an advantage with playing a 4442 E or 3331 Eb. But like others have said you can mute the G string. While not considered to be proper form, it might be easier to wrap your thumb around enough to mute the G string.

John

An easier way to mute the G string (for me) is to bar the 2nd fret but relax the finger tip on the G string. ring finger & pinkie on C & E strings. You can then rest the middle finger on the G string to make sure it's muted.

Eb can be fingered 0332 which is much easier (for me) than 3332 since the Eb chord comprises the notes Eb, G, Bb so the G string can be left open.

I have fairly small hands so I find 4442 a real struggle and I've not found a satisfactory way to finger 4442 so I either avoid the E chord if I can or use 4447 (or 444x) or capo 2 and play D shapes (ADF#B tuning achieves the same result).

Fortunately I rarely have need for the E chord and I can usually work round it. E7 sometimes works but not always but it's worth trying.
 
This is probably cheating, but a lot of times, I've found that E7 is a decent substitute, and way easier to play.
 
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E is for Easy, 1st finger 1st fret, on G string (Roll finger down a whisker to mute C string), 2nd finger on 2nd fret on A string, ...JOB DUN

Depending on song & progression this is E.!! ...for a really lush sound, roll 1st finger down to fret G & C string, adding the C# this is my

Favorite cord, i like C6 alot too.!! ...Hope it helps you, it helped me 30years back.!!

Thank you so much for this ratbag! It really works, now to practice getting it quickly. Ive been avoiding songs in the key of E for years. Maybe not so much anymore.
 
I never got what's the issue with the E chord... It seems ok to me, maybe cause I've been playing the guitar for some years now, and it has similar chords. Fmaj7 on the other hand... :(
 
look at the notes you've diagrammed. What do you have? A, E, F, C. What is the 5500? C,F,E,A. Same notes.

Yes, I want to learn to recognize the notes on the fretboard quickly, at some point...
 
Yes, I want to learn to recognize the notes on the fretboard quickly, at some point...

Good luck with that. I'm still learning. I come from a background of woodwind instruments where you need to know the note before you play it. The difficulty with stringed instruments is that you don't need to know what you're playing. For example, if you know the shape of the dorian mode you can start at any fret and execute the shape, and get a beautiful set of notes. You don't necessarily know what key you're in but it sounds good. I've tried a few things over time. I made flashcards devoted to what four notes are on every fret. It worked horizontally, but I still didn't have a good knowledge of the vertical relationship of the frets. Nowadays I try to practice being hyper-mindful of what I'm doing. I, for instance, play a chromatic scale and say every note I play as I play it. I also will grab any old piece of sheet music and try to sight read it. I can do it with difficulty. So it is still a work-in-progress. I would suggest to start by memorizing your frets with markers. Once you know them by heart, you can then count backwards or forwards to ascertain any note. What I mean by that is if you know that the fifth fret is CFAD, you know the note above the C is a B. Also, I do have on my wall a big, meter-long chart of the fretboard with all the notes written in.
 
Thread hijacked.....this is no help with the E chord (which I can make now but still hate)
But:
A fretboard chart is a good idea, but I don't have room for one.
What I just started doing is playing a scale up each string, trying to name the notes as I go. I'm probably not getting all the sharps and flats right. But I know that scales ALL go in steps of Whole-Whole-Half-Whole-Whole-Whole-Half. A fret up is a half step. Two frets up is a whole step.
 
I glanced this thread briefly and maybe saw once 1x02 mentioned. So I think this deserves another post.

It is an E chord and done with just 2 fingers. First finger damps also the 3rd C-string. First A-string is most naturally pressed with the third finger and also then the middle finger is ready to press down to get get E7, 1202, when needed.
 
I glanced this thread briefly and maybe saw once 1x02 mentioned. So I think this deserves another post.

It is an E chord and done with just 2 fingers. First finger damps also the 3rd C-string. First A-string is most naturally pressed with the third finger and also then the middle finger is ready to press down to get get E7, 1202, when needed.

Right! It's a better sounding E natural than ol' 2444 also!
 
I think you mean't 4442, but you are right. It is a good sounding chord.

The only thing to take care about is not to accidentally mute also E-string. It can happen easy. Takes some practice.
 
I think you mean't 4442, but you are right. It is a good sounding chord.

The only thing to take care about is not to accidentally mute also E-string. It can happen easy. Takes some practice.

Yes, you are right! It's a well known fact that my dyslectic brain keeps me from counting correctly.
 
+1 for 1x02 and also there's 444x. Both are a complete E chord i.e. EG#B and are excellent alternatives to 4442, especially if you have trouble with reach or for older fingers stiffening up.

No matter how many preach about keeping trying etc. etc. I have never really managed the stretch for 4442 and these two really are perfectly acceptable alternatives and really deserve to be in tutor books.
 
For me, it's just one of those chords that takes a while to learn.
One of the ways you can do it is make the chord shape, strum once, and move it up on the fretboard and keep doing it until you get as high on the fretboard as you can. Anyways, thats how I learned and after a while it became as easy as a C chord! Just keep at it and never ever give up! :cool:
 
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