Piano Guidance
Photo by Monstera Pexels Logo Photo: Monstera

What does F minor look like on piano?

In root position, the fingering for the F minor chord is 1 – 3 – 5. The thumb plays F, middle finger plays Ab and little finger plays C. For the 1st inversion of the chord the fingering is 1 – 2 – 5. This means that you play Ab with your thumb, C with your index finger and F with your little finger.

piano-keyboard-guide.com - F Minor Chord on Piano (Fm)
Are piano players intelligent?
Are piano players intelligent?

So pianists' brains actually are different. They are masters of creative, purposeful and efficient communication because of the very instrument...

Read More »
Is Sibelius Daw?
Is Sibelius Daw?

Sibelius supports any MIDI device, and allows Virtual Studio Technology (VST) and Audio Units plug-ins to be used as playback instruments, giving...

Read More »

In this lesson we will learn how to play an F minor chord on piano and keyboard. This chord, like other minor triads is formed by combining the root, flat third (minor third) and perfect fifth of the major scale. For an F major scale, the notes are F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E. A is the major 3rd or 3rd note of the scale. To form the Fm chord, you would need to play this 3rd note of the scale a half step (semitone lower). In other words instead of playing the note A, you play Ab. The notes of the F minor chord are F – Ab – C. F is note 1, Ab is the b3 (flat third) and C is note 5 of the major scale. If you already know how to play an F major chord (F – A – C), all you do is lower the middle note of this chord, A by a half step. This chord can be written as follows: Fm, Fmin, and F – (F followed by a minus sign). “F -” is less common. Fmin like other minor chords is a combination of a minor third and major third interval. F to Ab is a minor third interval while Ab to C is a major third interval. A minor third interval is three half steps higher than a particular note while a major third interval is four half steps (or two whole steps) higher than a certain note. Take a look at your piano keyboard and you will notice that Ab is three keys to the right of F. These are 3 semitones (or 3 half steps). C is four keys to the right of Ab. These are four semitones (or four half steps). The formula for forming a minor chord is R + 3HS + 4HS (root plus 3 half steps plus four half steps). Simply find the note F on your keyboard. This note is the note to the immediate left of the set of three black keys. Now move three half steps higher (or 3 keys) to Ab, then from Ab, move 4 half steps (or 4 keys) higher to C. Another way to think of a minor chord is in terms of skipping keys. Find the root note, F, skip two keys and play the next note, Ab. From Ab, skip 3 keys and play the note, C. Until now, we’ve looked at the F minor chord in its root position only. We’ve placed the root note F at the bottom, Ab in the middle and C at the top (F – Ab – C). It’s not time to talk about the first inversion and second inversion of the Fmin chord. For the first inversion of the Fm chord, the notes are in the order Ab – C – F. Ab is at the bottom, C is in the middle and the highest note is F. F is played an octave higher.

What an introvert should not tell?
What an introvert should not tell?

9 Things Not to Say to an Introvert “You're so quiet.” ... “Be more assertive.” ... “Speak up more.” ... Any words that interrupt us (since we've...

Read More »
What does the Moonlight Sonata symbolize?
What does the Moonlight Sonata symbolize?

Beethoven dedicated the 'Moonlight' sonata to his 16-year old lover and student, Giulietta Guicciardi, whom he had fallen in love with at around...

Read More »

For the second inversion of the chord, the notes are in the order C – F – Ab. This means that C is at the bottom, F in the middle and Ab at the top. How about the fingering of this chord? Firstly, for those who don’t know or need to refresh, the fingers of the right hand are numbered from 1 to 5. The thumb is number 1, index finger is number 2, middle finger is number 3, ring finger is number 4 and little (pinky) finger is number 5. In root position, the fingering for the F minor chord is 1 – 3 – 5. The thumb plays F, middle finger plays Ab and little finger plays C. For the 1st inversion of the chord the fingering is 1 – 2 – 5. This means that you play Ab with your thumb, C with your index finger and F with your little finger. For the 2nd inversion of F- chord, the fingering is 1 – 3 – 4. Play C with your thumb, F with your middle finger and Ab with your ring finger.

Video on How To Play an F Minor Chord

Here’s a video showing how to play the Fm chord on piano.

The following are keys where this chord occurs naturally.

In the key of F minor, the F minor chord is chord i. In the key of Ab major, it’s chord vi. In the key of C minor, it’s chord iv. In the key of Eb major, it’s chord ii. In the Bb minor key it’s chord v and in the key of Db, it’s chord iii.

Chords in the Key of E Flat Minor

All Kinds of Piano Chords

Learn all about my favorite program for learning how to play piano and keyboard.

Piano Lessons Home Page: Learn To Play Piano

Comments

piano-keyboard-guide.com - F Minor Chord on Piano (Fm)
Is piano hardest to play?
Is piano hardest to play?

The piano is one of the most difficult and rewarding instruments to learn; not only do you have to learn to read notes and translate them to the...

Read More »
How can you tell if a song is homophonic?
How can you tell if a song is homophonic?

Homophony is a musical texture in which a main melodic line is supported by one or more additional musical lines that add harmonic support. This is...

Read More »
How many hours a day did Beethoven practice?
How many hours a day did Beethoven practice?

That number is in fact correct, since the age of seven Beethoven had been practicing for at least eight hours a day vigorously on different...

Read More »
Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide
Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide

Pianoforall is one of the most popular online piano courses online and has helped over 450,000 students around the world achieve their dream of playing beautiful piano for over a decade.

Learn More »
Why rap is called rap?
Why rap is called rap?

As early as 1956, deejays were toasting (an African tradition of "rapped out" tales of heroism) over dubbed Jamaican beats. It was called "rap",...

Read More »