F major the chords in the key
- Scale
- F G A Bb C D E
- Key signature
- one flat: Bb
- Relative minor
- D minor
The seven chords
Seventh chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imaj7 | Fmaj7 | F A C E | |
| ii7 | Gm7 | G Bb D F | |
| iii7 | Am7 | A C E G | |
| IVmaj7 | Bbmaj7 | Bb D F A | |
| V7 | C7 | C E G Bb | |
| vi7 | Dm7 | D F A C | |
| viiø7 | Em7b5 | E G Bb D |
Common progressions in F major
- I–V–vi–IV the four-chord pop loop
- I–IV–V three-chord rock, folk and country
- ii–V–I the jazz cadence, in sevenths
- vi–IV–I–V the same four chords starting on the minor one
- 12-bar blues one chord per bar; every chord a dominant 7, which the major scale alone does not give
On guitar
Capo 3. With a capo on fret 3, play the open shapes D for F, G for Bb, A for C: they sound as the I, IV and V (F, Bb and C). The vi chord, Dm, does not become an open shape at that fret.
How the chords of F major work
F major uses the notes F G A Bb C D E, one flat: Bb. Stack every other note of that scale on each degree and you get the seven chords above: three major (F, Bb and C: I, IV and V), three minor (Gm, Am and Dm: ii, iii and vi) and one diminished (Edim, vii°). Most songs in F lean on F, Bb and C, with Dm as the fourth chord.
The V7, C7 (C E G Bb), is the chord that sounds like it wants to come home: its E rises a semitone to F and its Bb falls a semitone to A. A song that ends C7 to F is almost certainly in F major.
Dm is also the home chord of D minor, the relative minor: it uses exactly the same seven notes and the same seven chords. So a chord list from this page can be in either key; it is usually in the one whose home chord it starts or ends on.
Have a list of chords and not sure of the key? The key finder scores it against all 24 keys and can transpose it.
What this page cannot do
- Only major and minor keys. Dorian, Mixolydian and the other modes are not covered: a song in D Mixolydian (D, C, G) uses the chords of G major and will look like G major here.
- Finding a key from chord names is a best fit, not a certainty. A chord list cannot tell a key from its relative minor, which shares every chord; the melody and where the song comes to rest decide it.
- Songs change key. A bridge or a last chorus a step higher is a new key, with its own page.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, each chord in root position, not a recorded piano or guitar.