E is the third note and the fifth

semitone A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...

of the

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

scale, and mi in fixed-do solfège. It has

enharmonic In modern musical notation and tuning, an enharmonic equivalent is a note, interval, or key signature that is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature but "spelled", or named differently. The enharmonic spelling of a writte ...

equivalents of F♭ F-flat) which is by definition a diatonic semitone above Eand D (D-double sharp), amongst others. When calculated in

equal temperament An equal temperament is a musical temperament or tuning system, which approximates just intervals by dividing an octave (or other interval) into equal steps. This means the ratio of the frequencies of any adjacent pair of notes is the same, ...

with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

of Middle E (E₄) is approximately 329.628 Hz. See

pitch (music) Pitch is a perceptual property of sounds that allows their ordering on a frequency-related scale, or more commonly, pitch is the quality that makes it possible to judge sounds as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodi ...

for a discussion of historical variations in frequency.

Designation by octave

Scales

Common scales in the key of E.

E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equiva ...

: E F G A B C D E * E natural minor: E F G A B C D E * E harmonic minor: E F G A B C D E * E melodic minor ascending: E F G A B C D E * E melodic minor descending: E D C B A G F E

E major modes (
diatonic scale In music theory, a diatonic scale is any heptatonic scale that includes five whole steps (whole tones) and two half steps (semitones) in each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole st ...
s).

* E Ionian: E F G A B C D E * E Dorian: E F G A B C D E * E Phrygian: E F G A B C D E * E Lydian: E F G A B C D E * E Mixolydian: E F G A B C D E * E Aeolian: E F G A B C D E * E Locrian: E F G A B C D E

E melodic (Jazz) minor modes

* E ascending melodic minor: E F G A B C D E * E Dorian ♭2: E F G A B C D E * E Lydian augmented: E F G A B C D E * E

Lydian dominant In music, the acoustic scale, overtone scale, Lydian dominant scale, Lydian 7 scale, or the Pontikonisian Scale is a seven-note synthetic scale. : This differs from the major scale in having an augmented fourth and a minor seventh scale degre ...

: E F G A B C D E * E Mixolydian ♭6: E F G A B C D E * E Locrian ♮2: E F G A B C D E * E altered: E F G A B C D E

E harmonic minor modes

* E harmonic minor: E F G A B C D E * E Locrian 6: E F G A B C D E * E Ionian 5: E F G A B C D E * E Dorian 4: E F G A B C D E * E Phrygian 3: E F G A B C D E * E Lydian 2: E F G A B C D E * E Superlocrian bb7: E F G A B C D E

E harmonic major modes

* E Harmonic Major: E F G A B C D E * E Dorian 5: E F G A B C D E * E Phrygian 4: E F G A B C D E * E Lydian 3: E F G A B C D E * E Mixolydian 2: E F G A B C D E * E Lydian Augmented 2: E F G A B C D E * E Locrian 7: E F G A B C D E

F-flat

F is a common

equivalent of E, but is not regarded as the same note. F is commonly found after E in the same measure in pieces where E is in the

key signature In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (), flat (), or rarely, natural () symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef a ...

, in order to represent a

diatonic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a ...

, rather than a chromatic semitone; writing an E with a following E is regarded as a chromatic alteration of one scale degree.