F# minor the chords in the key
- Scale
- F# G# A B C# D E
- Key signature
- three sharps: F# C# G#
- Relative major
- A major
The seven chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | F#m | F# A C# | |
| ii° | G#dim | G# B D | |
| III | A | A C# E | |
| iv | Bm | B D F# | |
| v | C#m | C# E G# | |
| VI | D | D F# A | |
| VII | E | E G# B |
Seventh chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i7 | F#m7 | F# A C# E | |
| iiø7 | G#m7b5 | G# B D F# | |
| IIImaj7 | Amaj7 | A C# E G# | |
| iv7 | Bm7 | B D F# A | |
| v7 | C#m7 | C# E G# B | |
| VImaj7 | Dmaj7 | D F# A C# | |
| VII7 | E7 | E G# B D |
V and V7: the raised-seventh V most songs use
From the harmonic minor scale: the seventh note raised a semitone, E to E#.
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| V | C# (same notes, spelled Db on its chord page) | C# E# G# | |
| V7 | C#7 (same notes, spelled Db7 on its chord page) | C# E# G# B |
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(same notes on the chord pages: C# is spelled Db)
On guitar
Capo 2. With a capo on fret 2, play the open shapes Em for F#m, Am for Bm, C for D: they sound as the i, iv, V and VI (F#m, Bm, C# and D). 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# A B C# D E, three sharps: F# C# G#: the natural minor scale, the same notes as A major, its relative major. Its chords from the scale are i F#m, ii° G#dim, III A, iv Bm, v C#m, VI D, VII E.
In practice most songs in F# minor play C# or C#7 as the V chord instead of C#m: raising E 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# A B C# D E#). So a song with both E and C# in it is still in F# minor, and the finder counts C# and C#7 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.