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F major

F major has 1 flat (B♭). Its scale is F G A B♭ C D E, its chords are F, Gm, Am, B♭, C, Dm and Edim, and its relative minor is D minor.

Make a beat in F majorWrite a melody in this key

Opens the free editor with a pop beat on F C Dm B♭. No account needed to start.

The F major scale

Whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half: the half steps come between A and B♭, and between E and F.

F G A B♭ C D E F

FGACDEFB♭

On the piano, F major uses 1 black key (B♭) and 6 white keys (F, G, A, C, D and E).

The notes of F major by scale degree
DegreeNoteName
1FTonic
2GSupertonic
3AMediant
4B♭Subdominant
5CDominant
6DSubmediant
7ELeading tone

Chords in F major

One chord on each note of the scale, built from the scale’s own notes. The Roman numeral says which note it starts on: capitals are major, small letters minor.

IF
iiGm
iiiAm
IVB♭
VC
viDm
vii°Edim

Which chords sound happy or sad

Bright

F B♭ C

I, IV, V. The major chords. F feels like home; C pulls back to it.

Softer, sadder

Gm Am Dm

ii, iii, vi. The minor chords. Dm is the sad turn in many pop songs.

Tense

Edim

vii°. Diminished: tense and unstable, it wants to move on, usually to F.

A progression in F major

The pop progression · I–V–vi–IV
F
C
Dm
B♭
Hear it as

More progressions in F major

Key signature and related keys

Key signature

1 flat: B♭

Written at the start of every line of music, so each B is played flat. Sharps join in the order F C G D A E B, and flats in the order B E A D G C F.

Relative minor

D minor

The same seven notes and key signature, starting on D.

Parallel minor

F minor

The same home note, with 4 flats. Borrowing a chord from it makes a part sound darker.

Next to it on the circle of fifths

Keys next to each other share six of their seven notes. See them all on the circle of fifths.

F major in beats

The editor’s starter beats for these styles are written in F major. Each opens the free editor with its own drums, bass and chords at its usual tempo, no account needed.

R&B · 90 BPMGospel · 100 BPMJazz · 140 BPMSlow jam R&B · 72 BPM

Questions about F major

How many flats are in F major?

One: B♭. Every B is played flat, so the key signature has 1 flat, and D minor, its relative minor, has the same.

What is the relative minor of F major?

D minor. It uses the same seven notes and the same key signature as F major, but starts on D, the sixth note of the scale. The two share every chord, which is why songs move between them so easily.

What chords are in F major?

F, Gm, Am, B♭, C, Dm and Edim: one built on each note of the scale (I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii°). F, B♭ and C are the three major chords most songs in F major lean on, and Dm (vi) gives a sadder turn.

What is the most common chord progression in F major?

I–V–vi–IV: F, C, Dm and B♭. It is behind hundreds of hit songs, and it is the one the beat on this page plays.

Every key

Major keys
C majorG majorD majorA majorE majorB majorF♯ majorD♭ majorA♭ majorE♭ majorB♭ majorF major
Minor keys
A minorE minorB minorF♯ minorC♯ minorG♯ minorD♯ minorB♭ minorF minorC minorG minorD minor

Build a song in F major

Start with the beat, then add chords, a melody and your voice in the editor, part by part.

Make a beat in F majorAll music keys

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