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F minor

F minor has 4 flats (B♭, E♭, A♭ and D♭). Its scale is F G A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭, its chords are Fm, Gdim, A♭, B♭m, Cm, D♭ and E♭, and its relative major is A♭ major.

Make a beat in F minorWrite a melody in this key

Opens the free editor with a house beat on Fm D♭ A♭ E♭. No account needed to start.

The F minor scale

Whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole: the half steps come between G and A♭, and between C and D♭.

F G A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭ F

FGCFA♭B♭D♭E♭

On the piano, F minor uses 4 black keys (A♭, B♭, D♭ and E♭) and 3 white keys (F, G and C).

The notes of F minor by scale degree
DegreeNoteName
1FTonic
2GSupertonic
3A♭Mediant
4B♭Subdominant
5CDominant
6D♭Submediant
7E♭Subtonic

The raised seventh

Many songs in F minor raise E♭ to E. That makes the harmonic minor scale, F G A♭ B♭ C D♭ E, and turns the fifth chord from Cm into C major, which pulls hard back to Fm. The editor’s minor progressions play the fifth chord that way.

Chords in F minor

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.

iFm
ii°Gdim
IIIA♭
ivB♭m
vCm
VID♭
VIIE♭

Which chords sound happy or sad

Dark

Fm B♭m Cm

i, iv, v. The minor chords. Fm is home, and the key’s sad colour.

Lifting

A♭ D♭ E♭

III, VI, VII. The major chords, which bring light into a minor song.

Tense

Gdim

ii°. Diminished: tense and unstable, so most minor songs use it only in passing.

A progression in F minor

The epic minor · i–VI–III–VII
Fm
D♭
A♭
E♭
Hear it as

More progressions in F minor

Key signature and related keys

Key signature

4 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭

Written at the start of every line of music, so each B, E, A and D 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 major

A♭ major

The same seven notes and key signature, starting on A♭.

Parallel major

F major

The same home note, with 1 flat. Borrowing a chord from it makes a part sound brighter.

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 minor in beats

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

House · 124 BPMBassline house · 138 BPMChicago house · 123 BPMDrum and bass · 174 BPMDubstep · 140 BPMEDM · 128 BPMGqom · 124 BPMLiquid drum and bass · 174 BPM

And 2 more of the editor’s styles start in F minor.

Questions about F minor

How many flats are in F minor?

Four: B♭, E♭, A♭ and D♭. Those notes are played flat every time, so the key signature has 4 flats, and A♭ major, its relative major, has the same.

What is the relative major of F minor?

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

What chords are in F minor?

Fm, Gdim, A♭, B♭m, Cm, D♭ and E♭: one built on each note of the scale (i, ii°, III, iv, v, VI, VII). Many songs play the fifth chord as C major instead of Cm: its E pulls hard back to Fm.

What is a common chord progression in F minor?

i–VI–III–VII: Fm, D♭, A♭ and E♭. It is the minor key’s best-known loop, heard in anthems, EDM and film, 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 minor

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

Make a beat in F minorAll music keys

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