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E minor: scale and chords
The E minor scale, its seven chords and the keys that mix with it, with a loop in E minor that plays right here. Move it a semitone, then hum over it.
E minor: one black key. Mika plays the loop at 123 BPM and leaves the humming to you.Four chords of E minor over drums and bass, 123 BPM.
The E minor scale
E F♯ G A B C D
One sharp: F♯; one black key on a piano (F♯). Whole and half steps: W H W W H W W.
Harmonic minor raises the seventh to D♯: the chord on the fifth degree turns major (B, B7) and pulls back to E.
In Hz, from the keynote in octave 4: E4 329.6 · F♯4 370.0 · G4 392.0 · A4 440.0 · B4 493.9 · C5 523.3 · D5 587.3
The chords in E minor
Tap a chord to hear it.
| Degree | Chord | Notes | Seventh | Bass, Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | E G B | Em7 | E2 82.4 | |
| ii° | F♯ A C | F♯m7♭5 | F♯2 92.5 | |
| III | G B D | Gmaj7 | G2 98.0 | |
| iv | A C E | Am7 | A2 110.0 | |
| v | B D F♯ | Bm7 | B2 123.5 | |
| VI | C E G | Cmaj7 | C2 65.4 | |
| VII | D F♯ A | D7 | D2 73.4 |
The loop plays i–VI–III–VII: Em C G D.
Keys that mix with E minor
On the Camelot wheel E minor is 9A (Open Key 2m). Tracks in these keys mix without a clash:
- 9B G major relative major, the same seven notes
- 8A A minor one step down
- 10A B minor one step up
- 11A F♯ minor two steps up, the energy boost
Same keynote, the other mode: E major (12B), three notes apart.
Where E minor sits
| Open strings | In E minor | Keynote on an open string |
|---|---|---|
| Guitar E A D G B E | 6 of 6 | 6th and 1st |
| Bass E A D G | 4 of 4 | 4th |
| Violin G D A E | 4 of 4 | 1st |
| Viola C G D A | 4 of 4 | – |
| Cello C G D A | 4 of 4 | – |
| Ukulele G C E A | 4 of 4 | 2nd |
Choir parts (soprano C4–G5, alto G3–D5, tenor C3–G4, bass F2–D4, where two part-writing guides agree): E4–E5 fits the soprano part; E3–E4 fits the tenor part; no whole E-to-E octave fits the alto or bass parts. Find your own range.
As a sub or an 808, the keynote is E1 at 41.2 Hz, or E2 at 82.4 Hz an octave up. Tune an 808 to E.
What plays
Drums, an organ bass and a pluck, the Brumm app's own sounds, four bars at 123 BPM, one chord per bar. The arrows move bass and chords a semitone; the drums stay.
Then hum over it
The hum button opens Brumm with a short line in the key over a beat. Hum yours and it becomes an instrument. No account, no upload.
Sources
Scales and chords: Open Music Theory, musictheory.net. Camelot, Open Key: Mixed In Key, Mixgraph. Open strings: Wikipedia. Choir parts: Open Music Theory, Geneseo. Hz: A4 = 440 Hz, ISO 16.
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