Chords in the Key of F# Minor

What are the chords in F# minor?

Take the F# minor scale — F# G# A B 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#m — i, minor, built on F#
• G#dim — ii°, diminished, built on G#
• A — III, major, built on A
• Bm — iv, minor, built on B
• C#m — v, minor, built on C#
• D — VI, major, built on D
• E — VII, major, built on E

The pattern of qualities is the same in every minor 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#m, Bm and C#m — the i, iv and v — carry most songs in F# minor. Add D (the VI) and E (the VII) for the classic minor-key turnaround.

• Bittersweet Loop — 6m–4–1–5 — F#m – D – A – E. Heard in Zombie, Numb.
• Andalusian Cadence — 6m–5–4–3 — F#m – E – D – C#. Heard in Hit the Road Jack, Stray Cat Strut.
• Dorian Vamp — 6m–2 — F#m – B. Heard in Oye Como Va, Evil Ways.

The same chords as 7ths

Stack one more third on each and you get the seventh chords of F# minor: F#m7, G#m7♭5, Amaj7, Bm7, C#m7, Dmaj7, E7. Same roots, same function, a jazz and soul colour. The v as a dominant seventh (C#m7) is the one that pulls hardest back to F#m.

F# minor and A major share every chord

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

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

How to practice the chords of F# minor

1. Play F#m – Bm – C#m – F#m 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# minor fits every chord above, which is why the scale and the key are the same thing seen from two sides.