Minor chord · F root
Fm chord
- F1
- Ab♭3
- C5
The F minor chord is built from the notes F, Ab, C. It turns up 3 times in the 104 songs on this site, including Heather and Unchained Melody.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the Fm chord?
The Fm chord (F minor) is a minor chord built from three notes: F, Ab, C — the 1–♭3–5 of the F scale, 3 semitones and 7 semitones above the root. On guitar it is most often played as a movable shape from fret 1 (1-3-3-1-1-1); shift all fretted notes together to transpose it along the neck. It is rated intermediate. The darker, moodier counterpart of the major chord. Across the 104 song sheets in this site's library, Fm appears 3 times in 2 songs, most often in the keys of F and C, and the chord it most often moves to is C. Below you will find step-by-step fingering, 4 positions up the neck, audio of every shape, and the real progressions this chord lives inside.
How do you play the Fm chord on guitar?
Fret 1 barre — a movable shape, so this same fingering works for every root note.
- Lay your index finger flat across the low E to high E strings at fret 1, rolled slightly onto its bony edge.
- Press the A string at fret 3 with your ring finger.
- Press the D string at fret 3 with your pinky finger.
- Strum all six strings and let every one ring.
Leave out the lowest fretted note (low E string) and practise the remaining strings. The bass changes, and the upper strings may still need a smaller barre; check that the third and other colour tones stay clear. x-3-3-1-1-1
How do you make Fm sound clean?
Fm is a full barre at the 1st fret — the hardest fret on the guitar to barre cleanly.
Start with the four-string Fm shape x-x-3-1-1-1. Barre the top three strings at fret 1, then add the low strings when that small shape rings clearly.
In real songs
What songs use the Fm chord?
- chord changes
- 3
- songs
- 2
- common keys
- F · C
Across the 104 chord sheets on this site, Fm appears 3 times in 2 songs — most often in the keys of F and C.
Chord flow
What chord comes after Fm?
The counts come from our own song library — 1879 chord changes in total — which makes them a snapshot of real songs instead of a rule of thumb.
What other ways can you play Fm up the neck?
3 more positions below. Learn one of these well and the rest become optional. The value of a second position is practical: it keeps your fretting hand near where the song is already heading.
Position 2 · Fret 3
No open strings, so this is a movable shape: slide it up or down and the same fingering gives you a different chord name.
Position 3 · Fret 8 barre
Every note here is fretted, which means the shape transposes anywhere on the neck without changing your fingers.
The barre is the only hard part of this shape. Keep the bar finger straight and use the weight of your arm rather than the grip of your thumb.
Position 4 · Fret 9
No open strings, so this is a movable shape: slide it up or down and the same fingering gives you a different chord name.
Up at fret 9 the frets are close together, so use a lighter touch than you would in the open position — squeezing here pulls the notes sharp.
The theory behind Fm
Fm is spelled F – Ab – C — the 1 – ♭3 – 5 of the F scale, which is the root plus 3 semitones, 7 semitones. The darker, moodier counterpart of the major chord.
The flattened third is what makes it minor, so if Fm sounds wrong the third is almost always the note being muted — check the string carrying it before you change anything else.
What key is the Fm chord in?
Fm is the i chord in F minor, the ii chord in Eb major and the vi chord in Ab major — the three keys where Fm appears naturally.
the home chord of the minor key
the gentle predominant — often before the V
the relative minor — the major key’s shadow
Fm on other instruments
F – Ab – C — the highlighted black keys are the sharps or flats; play each note once, then move them into one hand position.
Take it to the practice room
