Chords in the Key of F# Minor

The key of F# minor has seven chords, one built on each note of the F# natural minor scale: three minor, three major and one diminished — plus the major V most songs borrow. Tap Play on any chord or progression to hear it.

3 sharpsRelative major: ALoads on play
The 7 chords

F#m · G#dim · A · Bm · C#m · D · E

Every natural minor key follows the same pattern: minor, diminished, major, minor, minor, major, major.

iF#mF# Minor2134111
ii°G#dimG# Diminished111243
IIIAA Major2123
ivBmB Minor213421
vC#mC# Minor413421
VIDD Major2132
VIIEE Major231
Chord chart

F# Minor chord chart

DegreeNumeralChordNotes7th chordFunction
1iF#mF# – A – C#F#m7Tonic
2ii°G#dimG# – B – DG#m7b5Supertonic
3IIIAA – C# – EAmaj7Mediant
4ivBmB – D – F#Bm7Subdominant
5vC#mC# – E – G#C#m7Dominant
6VIDD – F# – ADmaj7Submediant
7VIIEE – G# – BE7Subtonic

F# minor scale: F# – G# – A – B – C# – D – E. Key signature: 3 sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯).

Progressions

Common chord progressions in F# Minor

Minor pop loop

i – VI – III – VII

  1. iF#m
  2. VID
  3. IIIA
  4. VIIE

The four chords of the pop progression, started on the minor chord — i, VI, III, VII in a minor key is I, V, vi, IV in its relative major.

Minor three-chord progression

i – iv – v – i

  1. iF#m
  2. ivBm
  3. vC#m
  4. iF#m

The primary chords of the minor key, i, iv and v. Swap the minor v for the major V below for a stronger pull home.

Andalusian cadence

i – VII – VI – V

  1. iF#m
  2. VIIE
  3. VID
  4. VC#

A stepwise walk down to the major V — the sound of flamenco, and of a long list of rock songs.

Descending fifths

i – iv – VII – III

  1. iF#m
  2. ivBm
  3. VIIE
  4. IIIA

Each root is a 5th below the one before — the circle of fifths moving through the minor key.

Rising VI – VII

i – VI – VII – i

  1. iF#m
  2. VID
  3. VIIE
  4. iF#m

Climbs from the VI through the VII back home to i — a staple of rock choruses and film scores.

Minor ii – V – i

iiø7 – V7 – i7

  1. iiø7G#m7b5
  2. V7C#7
  3. i7F#m7

The minor-key jazz cadence. The V7 comes from the harmonic minor scale, which is what makes it resolve so strongly.

Want more? Generate a progression in F# Minor by style, or build your own in the Chord Progression Player.

7th chords

7th chords in the key of F# Minor

Add the next note of the scale on top of each chord and you get its diatonic 7th chord — the sound of jazz, soul and R&B in F# minor.

i7F#m7F# Minor 7th2131111
iiø7G#m7b5G# Minor 7th Flat 532341
IIImaj7Amaj7A Major 7th213
iv7Bm7B Minor 7th213121
v7C#m7C# Minor 7th413121
VImaj7Dmaj7D Major 7th21
VII7E7E Dominant 7th21
The major V

Why songs in F# minor use C#, not C#m

The natural minor scale makes the v chord minor (C#m), and it only weakly leads home. Raise the scale's 7th note to E# — the F# harmonic minor scale — and the chord becomes C# major, or C#7. That E# sits a half step below F# and pulls straight to it, which is why most minor-key songs end on C# → F#m or C#7 → F#m.

VC#C# Major412341
V7C#7C# Dominant 7th413141
On guitar

Playing in F# Minor on guitar

3 of the 7 chords are open chords (A, D, E); F#m, G#dim, Bm, C#m need a barre or a moveable shape. A capo lets you swap those for open shapes:

  • Capo 2 + E minor shapes

    Finger Em, F#dim, G, Am, Bm, C, D — they sound as F#m, G#dim, A, Bm, C#m, D, E. 5 of the 7 shapes are open chords.

    See the E minor chords

  • Capo 7 + B minor shapes

    Finger Bm, C#dim, D, Em, F#m, G, A — they sound as F#m, G#dim, A, Bm, C#m, D, E. 4 of the 7 shapes are open chords.

    See the B minor chords
Relative and parallel keys
Closest keys on the circle of fifths

They share six of F# minor's seven notes. Explore every key on the Circle of Fifths.

Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Tools
Circle of FifthsSee every key, its relative minor and its neighbours on one wheelKey FinderPaste a progression and detect its key with Roman numeral analysisChord Progression GeneratorPick a key and style to generate a diatonic progressionCapo CalculatorFind the capo position to play any key with open shapes