If you want to play E7#5 on the mandolin, start with its notes: E, G#, C, D. Its first mandolin voicing is the open position: G string at fret 1 (index finger); D string open; A string at fret 3 (middle finger); E string open. This is a 7th sharp 5th chord, and the sections below take you from the notes table to real fingerings, common mistakes and the musical contexts where E7#5 sounds right.
What notes are in the E7#5 chord?
The E7#5 chord is a 7th sharp 5th chord, and its notes are fixed: E, G#, C, D. Every voicing on every instrument uses these same notes, in some order and in some octave — change one of them and you are playing a different chord. The table below lists each note with its interval from the root E, so you can see the structure of E7#5 at a glance. On the mandolin, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in E7#5.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| E | Root |
| G# | 3 |
| C | #5 |
| D | b7 |
The root is E, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in E7#5 are 3, #5, b7. That combination is what makes E7#5 sound the way it does: the intervals decide the colour, and the root decides the pitch. On the mandolin, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
E7#5 sounds tense, bright and exotic — the sharpened 5th ({sharp5}) makes the dominant chord sound like it is leaning forward. That character comes straight from the intervals above, not from the instrument: the same notes on piano, guitar or ukulele carry the same colour, even though the voicing changes. On the mandolin, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in E7#5.
Comparing E7#5 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, 7#5 against dominant 7th: E7#5 raises the 5th to C where the plain dominant 7th keeps the perfect 5th B. The raised 5th adds lift and tension at the same time. Practise the two chords back to back and listen to the one note that changes — that single note is the difference between the two chords. On the mandolin, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in E7#5.
How to play E7#5 on mandolin
On the mandolin, E7#5 has 3 voicings in the data below, and each one uses the same notes — E, G#, C, D — in a different place on the neck. The first voicing below is the one to learn first, and the alternatives cover the rest of the neck. Finger numbers below use 1 for the index finger, 2 for the middle finger, 3 for the ring finger and 4 for the little finger, and x means the string is not played.
For the open position, E7#5 sits in open position: G string at fret 1 (index finger); D string open; A string at fret 3 (middle finger); E string open. This voicing is comfortable because the fretted notes sit close together, from fret 1 to fret 3, so your hand stays relaxed and every note can ring. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in E7#5 — E, G#, C, D — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
The barre chord is the voicing to learn if you want E7#5 in around fret 5: G string at fret 5 (index finger); D string at fret 6 (middle finger); A string at fret 5 (index finger); E string open. It barres across strings 1 to 3 at fret 5 with the index finger. The barre is the hard part: the index finger must press every string from 1 to 3 evenly at fret 5, so roll it slightly onto its bony side and keep it close to the fret wire. If the barre buzzes, move it a fraction closer to the fret and press from the arm, not the thumb alone. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in E7#5 — E, G#, C, D — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Another way to play E7#5 is the movable voicing, in around fret 2: G string at fret 5 (ring finger); D string at fret 2 (index finger); A string at fret 5 (little finger); E string at fret 4 (middle finger). The stretch is the challenge: the fretted notes span from fret 2 to fret 5, so keep your thumb low behind the neck and let your fingers reach rather than squeezing the neck. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in E7#5 — E, G#, C, D — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Choosing between the voicings of E7#5 is a musical decision, not a right-or-wrong one. The open or low-position voicing rings the most and suits strumming, while a barre or movable voicing lets you slide E7#5 up the neck to any key without changing the shape. When you change chords, pick the voicing of E7#5 that sits closest to the chord before it — shorter moves between shapes mean faster, cleaner changes. Practise the change into E7#5 from the chord that comes before it in your song, not the chord on its own, because the move is the skill. On the mandolin, the open position of E7#5 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
A short practice routine for E7#5 on the mandolin: play the first voicing four times slowly, checking each note, then change to it from the chord a fourth above E and back, four times, at a slow tempo. Then play the second voicing the same way. If a note buzzes, stop and fix the finger placement rather than playing through the buzz — clean notes at a slow tempo become clean notes at full tempo, while buzzes practised fast become habits. Use the Mandolin Chord Finder to see the diagram for E7#5 while you practise, and the Chord Finder to compare it with the same chord on other instruments.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make E7#5 sound wrong on the mandolin, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Using it as a tonic. E7#5 is an altered dominant. It wants to resolve to the tonic a fourth above its root. On the mandolin, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, C, D in E7#5.
Voicing it too low. C low down can sound muddy. Keep the sharpened 5th in a higher octave than the root. On the mandolin, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, C, D in E7#5.
Missing one string of a course. Mandolin strings come in pairs, and E7#5 needs both strings of each course to sound. If one string of a pair is muted by a neighbouring finger, the chord sounds thin. Check each course separately by plucking it on its own. On the mandolin, the open position of E7#5 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Playing a perfect 5th. If the 5th is B the chord is a plain dominant 7th. The sharpened 5th C is the note that makes it altered. On the mandolin, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, C, D in E7#5.
Where E7#5 is used
E7#5 is not a diatonic triad in any major or minor key, because it is an extended or altered chord, but its base triad belongs to the key of E major, the key of A major, the key of B major. an altered dominant in jazz, where the sharpened 5th adds tension before a resolution. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward A major, the key a perfect fourth above E, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where E7#5 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the mandolin, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in E7#5.
Because E7#5 is an extended or altered chord, it appears in progressions as a colour or a dominant rather than as a diatonic staple. Try it in place of the plain E triad in a progression you already know, and listen to how the extra notes change the feel — that substitution is the usual way extended chords enter real music. The Chord Progression Builder lets you try E7#5 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the mandolin, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in E7#5.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in E7#5 on guitar, E7#5 on piano, E7#5 on ukulele, and the scales that fit over it are the E major scale and the E minor pentatonic scale. Learning E7#5 on the mandolin and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — E, G#, C, D — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising E7#5
A short worked example makes E7#5 concrete. Play the four-chord progression A – E – F#m – D in A major, the key E7#5 most often resolves toward: A – E – F#m – D. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how E7#5 sounds in that sequence — whether it feels like home, like a lift, or like a chord on its way somewhere else. Then play the same four chords in a different order, starting on E7#5 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the mandolin, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in E7#5.
For a second exercise, play E7#5 and then the chord a fourth above E, back and forth, four times each. That move — a chord and the chord a fourth above it — is the most common resolution in Western music, and it is the move E7#5 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing E7#5 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: E, G#, C, D. Naming the notes while you play them is what turns a shape into knowledge you can use in any key. Test yourself with the Practice Chord Quiz and keep time with the Metronome as the tempo rises. On the mandolin, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G#, C, D in E7#5.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play E7#5 on the mandolin?
The first voicing is the open position: frets 1–0–3–0, fingers 1–0–2–0, on the mandolin. That voicing uses the notes E, G#, C, D, and it is the one to learn first. The page above lists more voicings for E7#5, so you can choose the shape nearest the chords around it.
Is E7#5 hard to play on the mandolin?
It depends on the voicing. The first voicing of E7#5 on the mandolin is the easiest starting point, and the movable voicings further up the neck are harder because they need a barre or a wider stretch. Practise the first voicing cleanly at a slow tempo before you try the others, and the harder shapes will come more easily.
What is the easiest voicing of E7#5 on the mandolin?
The open position is the easiest voicing listed for E7#5 on the mandolin: frets 1–0–3–0, fingers 1–0–2–0. Learn that shape first, get every note ringing cleanly, and only then move on to the alternative voicings further up the neck.
What notes are in E7#5?
E7#5 contains E, G#, C, D: root E, major 3rd G#, sharpened 5th C and flattened 7th D. The sharpened 5th is the note that makes it an altered dominant. On the mandolin, check the first voicing above for that note.
What is the difference between E7#5 and E7?
E7 has the perfect 5th B; E7#5 raises it to C. E7#5 sounds tenser and more exotic, and it is used as an altered dominant in jazz. On the mandolin, check the first voicing above for that note.