This paper studies the consensus problem of multi-agent systems with general linear dynamics. We propose a novel event-triggered control scheme with some desirable features, namely, distributed, asynchronous, and independent. It is shown that consensus of the controlled multi-agent system can be reached asymptotically. The feasibility of the event-triggered strategy is further verified by the exclusion of both singular triggering and Zeno behavior. Moreover, a self-triggered algorithm is developed, where the next triggering time instant for each agent is determined based on its local information at the previous triggering time instant. Continuous monitoring of measurement errors is thus avoided. The effectiveness of the proposed control schemes is demonstrated by two examples.