F minor the chords in the key
- Scale
- F G Ab Bb C Db Eb
- Key signature
- four flats: Bb Eb Ab Db
- Relative major
- Ab major
The seven chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Fm | F Ab C | |
| ii° | Gdim | G Bb Db | |
| III | Ab | Ab C Eb | |
| iv | Bbm | Bb Db F | |
| v | Cm | C Eb G | |
| VI | Db | Db F Ab | |
| VII | Eb | Eb G Bb |
Seventh chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i7 | Fm7 | F Ab C Eb | |
| iiø7 | Gm7b5 | G Bb Db F | |
| IIImaj7 | Abmaj7 | Ab C Eb G | |
| iv7 | Bbm7 | Bb Db F Ab | |
| v7 | Cm7 | C Eb G Bb | |
| VImaj7 | Dbmaj7 | Db F Ab C | |
| VII7 | Eb7 | Eb G Bb Db |
V and V7: the raised-seventh V most songs use
From the harmonic minor scale: the seventh note raised a semitone, Eb to E.
Common progressions in F minor
- i–iv–v straight from the natural minor scale
- i–VI–III–VII the minor pop loop
- i–iv–V with the raised-seventh V, which pulls harder back to i
On guitar
Capo 1. With a capo on fret 1, play the open shapes Em for Fm, Am for Bbm, C for Db: they sound as the i, iv, V and VI (Fm, Bbm, C and Db). C still has no open shape there; play it as a barre chord.
How the chords of F minor work
F minor uses the notes F G Ab Bb C Db Eb, four flats: Bb Eb Ab Db: the natural minor scale, the same notes as Ab major, its relative major. Its chords from the scale are i Fm, ii° Gdim, III Ab, iv Bbm, v Cm, VI Db, VII Eb.
In practice most songs in F minor play C or C7 as the V chord instead of Cm: raising Eb to E gives a note a semitone below F that pulls back to it. That raised seventh comes from the harmonic minor scale (F G Ab Bb C Db E). So a song with both Eb and C in it is still in F minor, and the finder counts C and C7 as belonging to this key.
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 major, 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.