Minor key
F sharp minor
Its seven chords: F♯m, G♯dim, A, Bm, C♯m, D, E.
- F♯1
- G♯2
- A3
- B4
- C♯5
- D6
- E7
| Degree | Triad | Seventh chord | Notes of the seventh chord |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 F♯ | i F♯m | i7 F♯m7 | F♯ A C♯ E |
| 2 G♯ | ii° G♯dim | iiø7 G♯m7♭5 | G♯ B D F♯ |
| 3 A | III A | IIImaj7 Amaj7 | A C♯ E G♯ |
| 4 B | iv Bm | iv7 Bm7 | B D F♯ A |
| 5 C♯ | v C♯m | v7 C♯m7 | C♯ E G♯ B |
| 6 D | VI D | VImaj7 Dmaj7 | D F♯ A C♯ |
| 7 E | VII E | VII7 E7 | E G♯ B D |
| Harmonic minor | V C♯ | C♯ E♯ G♯ | |
| Harmonic minor | V7 C♯7 | C♯ E♯ G♯ B | |
| Harmonic minor | vii°7 E♯dim7 | E♯ G♯ B D | |
- i–iv–V–i
- F♯m
- Bm
- C♯
- F♯m
- i–VI–III–VII
- F♯m
- D
- A
- E
- i–VII–VI–V
- F♯m
- E
- D
- C♯
- ii°–V7–i
- G♯dim
- C♯7
- F♯m
About F sharp minor
The scale of F sharp minor runs F♯ – G♯ – A – B – C♯ – D – E, and the key has 3♯ in the signature (F♯, C♯, G♯). Those seven notes are the raw material of everything on this page: each chord below is stacked from them alone, which is why the chords of F sharp minor fit together so naturally.
In F sharp minor you will mostly hear F♯m, Bm and C♯. The natural minor scale would make the fifth chord minor, but players nearly always raise the seventh note to E♯, which turns it into C♯ (or C♯7 with a seventh) and gives the key its strong pull home.
F sharp minor shares every note with A major, its relative key, so the two have the same signature and the same seven chords. If the chords of a piece fit both lists, listen for the chord it starts and ends on to decide which key you are in. Not to be confused with F sharp major, the parallel key on the same home note.
Minor keys have three common forms of their scale: natural, harmonic (with the raised seventh, E♯) and melodic. The table shows the natural chords and, below them, the chords borrowed from the harmonic form: C♯, C♯7 and the diminished seventh.
Barre chords make F sharp minor harder on guitar, but a capo on fret 2 turns the chords into the easy shapes Em, G, Am, Bm, C, D, which is how many guitarists play in this key.
A good way to learn F sharp minor: play the chords up the scale, then pick two progressions from this page and loop them for a few minutes with a metronome, first at 60 BPM, then faster.