E minor scale — fingering and practice
The E minor scale has 1 sharp (F♯). Going up one octave, its notes are E, F♯, G, A, B, C, D and E. The right hand plays it with fingers 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5 going up.
- 1 sharp (F♯)
About this exercise
This is the natural minor scale: the same notes as its relative major, with a different home note.
Its relative major is the G major scale, which has the same key signature.
Right-hand fingering going up: 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5. Left hand going up: 5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1. Coming down, the fingers reverse. The sheet music view shows a finger on every note for any number of octaves.
Start with one hand in Wait mode, so the music waits for each note while you watch the fingers and the thumb passing under. Then play hands together, raise the speed a little at a time, and try contrary motion, octaves, broken octaves and thirds.
Fingering, one octave going up
| Note | E | F♯ | G | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Left hand | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Scale degrees
Each note of the scale has a number (a Roman numeral) and a name for its role in the key.
| Degree | Note | Name |
|---|---|---|
| I | E | Tonic |
| II | F♯ | Supertonic |
| III | G | Mediant |
| IV | A | Subdominant |
| V | B | Dominant |
| VI | C | Submediant |
| VII | D | Subtonic |
Chords in the key of E minor
Build a three-note chord on each note of the scale, using only notes of the scale, and you get the seven chords of the key. Upper-case numerals are major chords, lower-case are minor, and ° marks a diminished chord.
The i, iv and v chords (Em, Am and Bm) are the primary chords of E minor. In practice the v chord is often made major (B) by raising the seventh note to D♯, as in the harmonic minor scale.
Two-octave fingering
Right hand going up two octaves: 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5. The thumb passes under onto A, E and A.
Left hand going up two octaves: 5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3-2-1, crossing finger 3 over the thumb onto C, finger 4 over the thumb onto F♯ and finger 3 over the thumb onto C.
Fingering, two octaves going up
| Note | E | F♯ | G | A | B | C | D | E | F♯ | G | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Left hand | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Contrary motion and hands together
In contrary motion both hands start on E and move apart, the right hand going up and the left hand going down.
In this key both hands use the same finger at the same moment (1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5), so the thumbs pass together. That makes contrary motion the easiest way to start playing hands together.
For hands together in the same direction, the left hand plays an octave lower; start slowly and listen for both hands landing at exactly the same time.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the key signature: every F in this scale is sharp (F♯).
- Passing the thumb late on A and E: the thumb should already be moving under the hand while finger 3 plays, without the elbow jerking out.
- Playing D♯ instead of D: that raised seventh belongs to the harmonic minor. The natural minor keeps D.
- Accenting the thumb notes, so the scale sounds in lumps instead of one even line. Record yourself or play along with the falling notes to hear it.
Questions and answers
What notes are in the E minor scale?
The E minor scale has 1 sharp (F♯). Its notes are E, F♯, G, A, B, C, D and E.
What is the fingering for the E minor scale?
Going up one octave, the right hand plays 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5 and the left hand plays 5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1. Coming down, reverse the fingers.
What chords are in the key of E minor?
The seven chords of E minor are Em (i), F♯° (ii°), G (III), Am (iv), Bm (v), C (VI) and D (VII).