Chords in the Key of F# Minor
The key of F# minor contains seven chords: F#m, G#dim, A, Bm, C#m, D and E. The key signature has three sharps, F#, C# and G#, and most songs in F# minor lean on F#m, D, A and E.
The seven chords on guitar
Each chord below opens its own page, with more shapes up the neck, audio for every voicing and a printable chart. Tap the play button on any card to hear it.
The seven chords on piano
The same seven chords on a keyboard, in root position. Each one opens its own page, with every inversion and the finger numbers for both hands.
iF#mF♯ A C♯ 
the home chord
ii°G#dimA♭ B D 
the tense one, used sparingly, filed as Abdim
IIIAA C♯ E 
the relative major, the bright lift
ivBmB D F♯ 
the darker step away from home
vC#mC♯ E G♯ 
the pull home, usually played major
VIDD F♯ A 
the warm place to rest
VIIEE G♯ B 
a step below home, the rock cadence
The seventh chords in F# minor
Add one more note to each chord and the key gains its seventh chords, which is where most jazz and a good deal of soul begins.
Common progressions in F# minor
- i - VI - III - VII
F#m D A E
The most common minor key loop in pop and rock. On guitar only the first chord needs a barre, so many players capo at the second fret and use Em, C, G and D shapes instead.
- i - VII - VI
F#m E D
A step down from the tonic and then another. This is the sound of a great deal of minor key rock and folk, and it works because VII is a major chord a whole step below home.
- i - iv - v
F#m Bm C#m
The sad one, and all three are barres on guitar. Most songs play that last chord major instead, as C# or C#7, because the raised third pulls back to F#m much harder than C#m does.
- i - iv - VII - III
F#m Bm E A
The two barres come first and then it opens out into E and A, which is a good way to practise landing on a barre chord in time.
Why these seven chords
On a stave, F# minor is written with three sharps, F#, C# and G#, which is how a reader knows the key before playing a note.
F# minor is built on the F# natural minor scale, so its seven chords are F#m, G#dim, A, Bm, C#m, D and E. Three of them are minor, three are major, and G#dim is the diminished chord that turns up far less often than the other six.
A major is the relative major. It has the same three sharps and the same seven chords, and the only real difference is which chord the music treats as home. One more chord shows up constantly and is not in the list of seven: the v chord played major, which here is C#, usually C#7. Raising its third to E# gives the leading note that pulls hard back to F#m, and that raised note comes from the F# harmonic minor scale.
On guitar
This key splits neatly in two. A, D and E are three of the easiest open shapes on the guitar, while F#m, Bm and C#m all need barres. That mix is why F# minor is a common place for a beginner to meet the barre chord for the first time: the song sounds good with open chords for most of the bar, then asks for F#m and stops.
The usual workaround is a capo at the second fret, where Em shapes give F# minor. Em becomes F#m, C becomes D, G becomes A, D becomes E and Am becomes Bm, so the whole key falls under open shapes with no barre at all. The full barre is still worth learning here, because the F#m barre at the second fret is the same shape you slide up for Bm at the seventh and C#m at the ninth.
On piano
The F# minor scale uses three black keys, F#, C# and G#. The tonic chord F#m is F#, A and C#, so the hand sits with two black keys and one white between them, which is a comfortable shape to find without looking.
D, A and E are all white key chords, so the hand moves between black key and white key groups a lot in this key. C#m is the one most players find awkward, since C# and G# are black while E sits between them. Every triad and seventh on the site shows all its inversions with fingering for both hands, which helps when you want to move from F#m to Bm without jumping the hand across the keyboard.
Questions about the key of F# Minor
What are the 7 chords in the key of F# minor?
F#m, G#dim, A, Bm, C#m, D and E. F#m, Bm and C#m are minor, A, D and E are major, and G#dim is diminished.
What is the relative major of F# minor?
A major. It has the same three sharps, F#, C# and G#, and the same seven chords. Only the resting chord is different.
Why do songs in F# minor use C# or C#7 instead of C#m?
The v chord is minor in the natural minor scale, but raising its third gives a leading note that pulls strongly back to F#m. That raised chord, C# or C#7, comes from the harmonic minor scale and is the one common chord in this key that is not one of the seven.
Can I play in F# minor without barre chords?
Yes. Put a capo at the second fret and play Em shapes: Em gives F#m, Am gives Bm, C gives D, G gives A and D gives E. The whole key then sits in open position.
Is F# minor hard on guitar?
It is mixed. A, D and E are among the easiest open chords, but F#m, Bm and C#m all need barres, so the key is often a beginner's first barre chord song.
What do the numbers next to each chord mean?
They are each chord's place in the key, written as Roman numerals. In F# minor the i is F#m, the iv is Bm and the v is C#m. The numbering holds in every key, so the v of A minor is Em. That is why progressions get written as numerals like i, VI, III, VII: learn one and you have it in all twelve minor keys.
Why are some numerals capitals and some lowercase?
The case tells you the chord quality. Lowercase are minor, which in F# minor means F#m, Bm and C#m. Capitals are major: A, D and E. The small circle on ii° means diminished, and here that is G#dim.
What is the relative major of F# minor?
A major. It is written with three sharps, F#, C# and G#, the same signature as F# minor, and it contains the same seven chords. Only the chord that sounds like home changes, from F#m to A.
The relative major
A major is written with the same three sharps, F#, C# and G# and contains the same seven chords as F# minor. What changes is which one sounds like home, so the same shapes can be played brighter without learning anything new. Chords in the key of A