F# major the chords in the key
- Scale
- F# G# A# B C# D# E#
- Key signature
- six sharps: F# C# G# D# A# E#
- Relative minor
- D# minor, whose page is Eb minor (same notes)
- Also written
- Gb major (six flats: Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb): the same sounds, spelled from Gb
The seven chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | F# | F# A# C# | |
| ii | G#m | G# B D# | |
| iii | A#m (same notes, spelled Bbm on its chord page) | A# C# E# | |
| IV | B | B D# F# | |
| V | C# (same notes, spelled Db on its chord page) | C# E# G# | |
| vi | D#m (same notes, spelled Ebm on its chord page) | D# F# A# | |
| vii° | E#dim (same notes, spelled Fdim on its chord page) | E# G# B |
Seventh chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imaj7 | F#maj7 (same notes, spelled Gbmaj7 on its chord page) | F# A# C# E# | |
| ii7 | G#m7 | G# B D# F# | |
| iii7 | A#m7 (same notes, spelled Bbm7 on its chord page) | A# C# E# G# | |
| IVmaj7 | Bmaj7 | B D# F# A# | |
| V7 | C#7 (same notes, spelled Db7 on its chord page) | C# E# G# B | |
| vi7 | D#m7 (same notes, spelled Ebm7 on its chord page) | D# F# A# C# | |
| viiø7 | E#m7b5 (same notes, spelled Fm7b5 on its chord page) | E# G# B D# |
Common progressions in F# major
- I–V–vi–IV the four-chord pop loop(same notes on the chord pages: C# is spelled Db; D#m is spelled Ebm)
- I–IV–V three-chord rock, folk and country(same notes on the chord pages: C# is spelled Db)
- ii–V–I the jazz cadence, in sevenths(same notes on the chord pages: C#7 is spelled Db7; F#maj7 is spelled Gbmaj7)
- vi–IV–I–V the same four chords starting on the minor one(same notes on the chord pages: D#m is spelled Ebm; C# is spelled Db)
- 12-bar blues one chord per bar; every chord a dominant 7, which the major scale alone does not give(same notes on the chord pages: C#7 is spelled Db7)
On guitar
Capo 4. With a capo on fret 4, play the open shapes D for F#, G for B, A for C#: they sound as the I, IV and V (F#, B and C#). The vi chord, D#m, does not become an open shape at that fret.
How the chords of F# major work
F# major uses the notes F# G# A# B C# D# E#, six sharps: F# C# G# D# A# E#. Stack every other note of that scale on each degree and you get the seven chords above: three major (F#, B and C#: I, IV and V), three minor (G#m, A#m and D#m: ii, iii and vi) and one diminished (E#dim, vii°). Most songs in F# lean on F#, B and C#, with D#m as the fourth chord.
The V7, C#7 (C# E# G# B), is the chord that sounds like it wants to come home: its E# rises a semitone to F# and its B falls a semitone to A#. A song that ends C#7 to F# is almost certainly in F# major.
D#m is also the home chord of D# minor, the relative minor: it uses exactly the same seven notes and the same seven chords (its page is Eb minor, the same notes written with flats). 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.