How to play F minor easily?

Step by Step Place the tip of your first finger on the sixth string at the first fret. Flatten your finger and press down to make a barre across to the first string. Put your third finger on the third fret of the fifth string. Put your fourth finger on the third fret of the fourth string. Strum all six strings.

What is the basic music theory of F minor chords?

An F minor chord is a triad (three note chord) with a root note of F, a minor third, A♭ and a perfect fifth, C . Remember, all minor triads follow the same intervallic formula of a minor third (three half steps or semitones) followed by a major third (four half steps or semitones).

What is the trick to playing the F chord on guitar?

How to Play the F Chord Index finger on the 1st fret of the B (2nd) string. Middle finger on the 2nd fret of the G (3rd) string. Ring finger on the 3rd fret of the D (4th) string.

What key goes with FM?

F minor Relative key A-flat major Parallel key F major Dominant key C minor Subdominant B-flat minor Component pitches 1 more row

Let's now take a look at common chord progressions in the key of F minor natural. They are as follows: i – VI – VII (Fm – Db – Eb) i – iv – VII (Fm – Bbm – Eb)

What notes are in the key of FM?

The notes of the F Minor scale are F G Ab Bb C Db Eb . It's key signature has 4 flats. Press play to listen to the scale. Click the virtual piano or the notation to hear each note.

Is F the hardest guitar chord?

The six-string F chord is one of the hardest standard chord shape to play on the guitar . When many people try to play the F chord on guitar (and often succeed), it's with far too much struggle and effort than is actually necessary. Even extremely influential guitarists can have a hard time with barre chords.

Why is the F chord so hard to play on the guitar?

The reason why the F chord can be so challenging for people as they get started is that it is a barre in it . A barre happens when you use one finger to play more than one string.

Why is it so hard to play F on guitar?

F is basically the “E” chord played 1 fret higher. The bony part of your index finger acts as a new “nu*t” - which makes your guitar 1 fret shorter (and 1 pitch higher). The tricky part is getting your index finger to hold down all the strings - without your hand starting to hurt . It ain't easy.

What keys go well with F# minor?

The relative keys of F♯ Minor are: A Major. E Mixolydian. B Dorian. D Lydian. C♯ Phrygian. G♯ Locrian.

What are alternative keys to F minor?

The enharmonic equivalent of F minor is E-sharp minor . It is a minor scale based on the musical note E♯.

What notes go well with F minor?

Let's now take a look at common chord progressions in the key of F minor natural. They are as follows: i – VI – VII (Fm – Db – Eb) i – iv – VII (Fm – Bbm – Eb)

Is F minor A sad key?

Hermann von Helmholtz once described F minor as harrowing and melancholy . Christian Schubart described this key as "Deep depression, funereal lament, groans of misery and longing for the grave".

Fm Chord on the Guitar (F Minor) – 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory) (2024)

The F minor chord is a relatively popular guitar chord. The root 6 bar chord version of F minor is played on the 1st fret, so the Fm chord is often used as a kind of default chord for practising the minor bar chord.

The Fm chord does not contain any notes that can be played on the open strings of the guitar, so there is no way to play the Fm chord as an open chord.

Some Quick Fm Chord Theory

The F minor chord contains the notes F, Ab and C.
The F minor chord is produced by playing the 1st (root), flat 3rd and 5th notes of the F Major scale.
The F minor chord (just like all minor chords) contains the following intervals (from the root note): minor 3rd, Major 3rd, Perfect 4th (back to the root note).
F minor is the relative minor of Ab Major.
Fm is the first chord in the key of F minor. The seven chords in the key of F minor are: Fm, G diminished, Ab+, Bbm, C, Db, E diminished

10 Ways To Play The F Minor Chord

If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for Fm, here they are.

Fm Chord on the Guitar (F Minor) – 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory) (1)

Standard Fm Chord Shape

The most common way to play the F minor chord is as a root-6 minor barre chord, starting in the first fret. This is usually the Fm shape that most guitarists default to, but it can actually be a tricky chord to play, because it requires barring the first fret, which is the widest fret on the guitar.

Fm Chord on the Guitar (F Minor) – 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory) (2)

Easy Fm Chord Shape

The ‘easy’ or ‘mini’ version of the F minor chord is achieved by playing the first three strings of the guitar, all in the first fret. This can be used as an easy alternative to the more difficult barre chord shape (pictured above).

Fm Chord on the Guitar (F Minor) – 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory) (3)

How to Play the Fm Chord (Step by Step)

Place your first finger on the first fret of the sixth string and barre all six strings.
Place your third finger on the third fret of the fifth string.
Place your fourth finger on the third fret of the fourth string.
Strum all six strings.

The instructions above are step by step instructions for playing the common F minor chord shape. Forming the chord through step by step instructions is a great way of ensuring that you are interpreting the chord diagram correctly.

F Minor Barre Chord Shapes

The Fm chord can be played as a barre chord by playing a root 6 barre chord shape and starting on the 1st fret or by playing a root 5 barre chord Major shape and starting on the 8th fret:

Fm Chord on the Guitar (F Minor) – 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory) (4)

F Minor Triads

Playing triads is a great way of exploring the minor chord and the guitar fretboard more generally. By arranging the notes of the chord systematically using permutations (root position, first inversion, second inversion), interesting and unique shapes and voicings are created. The three different voicings for the F minor triad are:

F minor Triad (Root Position) – F, Ab, C
F minor Triad (1st Inversion) – Ab, C, F
F minor Triad (2nd Inversion) – C, F, Ab

By playing these triads on two different groups of three strings, we can produce six different shapes.

Fm Chord on the Guitar (F Minor) – 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory) (5)

Which Keys Have The Fm chord in Them?

The Fm chord can be found in the following keys:

The key of F minor (Fm, Gdim, Ab, Bbm, Cm, D, Eb)
The key of Bb minor (Bbm, Cdim, Db, Ebm, Fm, Gb, Ab)
The key of C minor (Cm, Ddim, Eb, Fm, Gm, Ab, Bb)
The key of Ab Major (Ab, Bbm, Cm, Db, Eb, Fm, Gdim)
The key of Db Major (Db, Ebm, Fm, Gb, Ab, Bbm, Cdim)
The key of Eb Major (Eb, Fm, Gm, Ab, Bb, Cm, Ddim)

Alternative But Useful Fm Chord Shapes

The following shapes are alternative ways of playing the F minor chord shape. They’re not the most common Fm shapes, but used enough to include here as interesting alternatives.

Fm Chord on the Guitar (F Minor) – 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory) (6)

Fm Chord Substitutions

Most F minor chords with extensions can be used as a substitute for the F minor chord. For example, Fm9, Fm11 and Fm6 can often be used to add colour and emotion to the F minor chord.

The Fm7 chord is quite often used interchangeably with the Fm chord.

For more interesting substitutions, playing variations of the F chord (which is the relative Major of F minor), such as Ab6, Ab69, Abmaj9 etc. can be used effectively as a substitute for the F minor chord.

Which Scales Can Be Played Over the F Minor Chord?

The most common and effective scales that can be used to solo/improvise over the F minor chord, or to create melodies for the purposes of song writing are:

F natural minor scale – This scale (also called F aeolian) is the most commonly used scale for this chord.
F minor pentatonic scale – This is probably the easiest scale to learn and get started on when improvising over the F minor chord..
F minor blues scale – This scale can be used over the Fm chord to add a Blues flavour.
F dorian mode – This scale can be used to add a slightly brighter sound to the F minor chord.
F phrygian mode – This scale can be used to add a darker sound to the F minor chord.