Chords in the Key of F Major

What are the chords in F major?

Take the F major scale — F G A Bb C D E — and build a chord on each note by stacking every other scale note on top of it. Those seven chords are the chords in the key:

• F — I, major, built on F
• Gm — ii, minor, built on G
• Am — iii, minor, built on A
• Bb — IV, major, built on Bb
• C — V, major, built on C
• Dm — vi, minor, built on D
• Edim — vii°, diminished, built on E

The pattern of qualities is the same in every major key — only the letters change. Learn the numerals and you can find the chords of any key in seconds.

Which chords to play first

F, Bb and C — the I, IV and V — carry most songs in F major. Add Dm (the vi, the relative minor) and you have the four chords behind a large share of popular music.

• Pop Anthem — 1–5–6m–4 — F – C – Dm – Bb. Heard in Let It Be (verse), Don't Stop Believin'.
• Rock / Country / Blues Backbone — 1–4–5 — F – Bb – C. Heard in Wild Thing, Twist and Shout.
• 50s / Doo-Wop — 1–6m–4–5 — F – Dm – Bb – C. Heard in Stand By Me, Earth Angel.
• Rhythm Changes Turnaround — 1–6m–2m–5 — F – Dm – Gm – C. Heard in I Got Rhythm, Heart and Soul (original).

The same chords as 7ths

Stack one more third on each and you get the seventh chords of F major: Fmaj7, Gm7, Am7, Bbmaj7, C7, Dm7, Em7♭5. Same roots, same function, a jazz and soul colour. The V as a dominant seventh (C7) is the one that pulls hardest back to F.

F major and D minor share every chord

D minor uses the same seven notes as F major, so it has the same seven chords — the relative minor. What changes is which chord is home: F in F major, Dm in D minor. A song can drift between the two without changing a single chord shape.

• The chords of D minor, with their own numerals
• The F major scale on the neck

How to practice the chords of F major

1. Play F – Bb – C – F slowly, one strum per chord, until the changes are clean.
2. Open the chord builder in this key and turn on Smooth Voice Leading — it re-fingers each change so your hand barely moves.
3. Then play the scale over the chords. Every note of F major fits every chord above, which is why the scale and the key are the same thing seen from two sides.