Mandolin · key of F minor

Chords in the key of F minor

The seven chords in the key of F minor are Fm, Gdim, A♭, B♭m, Cm, D♭ and E♭. A♭, D♭ and E♭ are the major chords (III, VI and VII), Fm, B♭m and Cm are the minor chords (i, iv and v), and Gdim is diminished (ii°). Its relative major is A♭ major, which uses the same seven chords.

Key

Scale

The chords of F minor
Numeral	Triad	Notes	Seventh chord	Notes	Number	Role
i	Fmhome	F A♭ C	Fm7home	F A♭ C E♭	1m	tonic
ii°	Gdimthe edge	G B♭ D♭	Gm7♭5the edge	G B♭ D♭ F	2°	supertonic
III	A♭daylight	A♭ C E♭	A♭maj7daylight	A♭ C E♭ G	3	mediant
iv	B♭msoft fall	B♭ D♭ F	B♭m7soft fall	B♭ D♭ F A♭	4m	subdominant
v	Cmsoft fall	C E♭ G	Cm7soft fall	C E♭ G B♭	5m	dominant
VI	D♭cinematic	D♭ F A♭	D♭maj7cinematic	D♭ F A♭ C	6	submediant
VII	E♭heroic	E♭ G B♭	E♭7heroic	E♭ G B♭ D♭	7	subtonic
V	Cthe pull	C E G	C7the pull	C E G B♭	5	often used in place of Cm

Sound

Strum or arpeggiate any chord, tap a note to hear it, drag the strip under a picture to play it further up the neck, or pick another inversion. Library opens the chord there, with every other way to play it.

Fm

LibraryMandolin · Standard

i · tonic

Gdim

LibraryMandolin · Standard

ii° · supertonic

A♭

LibraryMandolin · Standard

III · mediant

B♭m

LibraryMandolin · Standard

iv · subdominant

Cm

LibraryMandolin · Standard

v · dominant

D♭

LibraryMandolin · Standard

VI · submediant

E♭

LibraryMandolin · Standard

VII · subtonic

Chord progressions in F minor

Press a chord to hear it and see its shape, or Play to hear the progression on mandolin. The colours say what each chord does in the key.

Sound Pattern Tempo85

↓ · ↓ ↑ · ↑ ↓ ↑ · Down, down-up, up-down-up: the campfire strum, also called the calypso strum.

Colours

home, minorthe pullthe edgeheroiccinematicsoft falldaylight

What each chord does in its key. Press a chord to hear it and read more.

The minor key’s three chords

i | iv | v | i

Key Chord chart

i–iv–v–i, the minor key’s own three chords.

The epic minor progression

i | VI | III | VII

Key Chord chart

i–VI–III–VII, the sound of film scores and rock anthems.

The Andalusian cadence

i | VII | VI | V

Key Chord chart

Stepping down to a major fifth chord, heard in flamenco and in many rock songs.

To the relative major

i | iv | VII | III

Key Chord chart

i–iv–VII–III, a minor progression that lands on the relative major.

Climbing back home

i | VI | VII | i

Key Chord chart

i–VI–VII–i, common in rock and metal.

The minor ii–V–i

iiø7 | V7 | i7 | i7

Key Chord chart

The minor turnaround of jazz, in seventh chords.

The major fifth chord

In a minor key the fifth chord is often played major, C or C7 in place of Cm. Its third is the leading note of the harmonic minor scale, a half step below F, and it pulls back to Fm more strongly.

The relative major: A♭ major

A♭ major has the same notes and the same seven chords as F minor, starting from A♭. A song in one often moves to the other. The parallel major, F major, starts on the same note with a different set of chords.

Play it with a capo

F minor takes barre chords on mandolin. A capo lets you play it with the open shapes of an easier key:

Capo 1, the shapes of E minor: Em, F♯dim, G, Am, Bm, C and D

The F minor scale and key signature

The notes of F minor are F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭. Its key signature has four flats: A♭, B♭, D♭ and E♭. Each chord of the key is built from these notes, a third apart: a chord on every note of the scale. See the F minor scale on the mandolin neck, and the F minor pentatonic.

Keys nearby

On the circle of fifths, C minor and B♭ minor sit on either side of F minor. Each shares six of its seven notes, which makes them the easiest keys to change to.

Every key

C D♭D E♭E F F♯G A♭A B♭B

C minor C♯ minor D minor E♭ minor E minor F minor F♯ minor G minor G♯ minor A minor B♭ minor B minor

All twenty-four on one page: chords in every key. To print these chords, open them as a chord chart, or make your own in the chord chart maker. This key on guitar, bass, ukulele and banjo.