Chords in the key of F major

The guitar chords in the key of F major are F, Gm, Am, Bb, C, Dm and Edim, with the Roman numerals I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi and vii°. Four of them, Am, C, Dm and Edim, are open chords. D minor, its relative minor, has the same notes and chords. See the chords of all 24 keys.

  1. I
    1fr342
    F
    1 3 3 2 1 1
  2. ii
    3fr34
    Gm
    3 5 5 3 3 3
  3. iii
    1fr231
    Am
    X 0 2 2 1 0
  4. IV
    1fr234
    Bb
    X 1 3 3 3 1
  5. V
    1fr321
    C
    X 3 2 0 1 0
  6. vi
    1fr231
    Dm
    X X 0 2 3 1
  7. vii°
    1fr12
    Edim
    0 1 2 0 X X

The seven chords in F major

F and Bb are barre chords at fret 1; Gm is a barre chord at fret 3. Each diagram is the shape most guitarists hold in standard tuning, and on a piano the same notes make the same chords.

NumeralChordNotes
IFF A C
iiGmG Bb D
iiiAmA C E
IVBbBb D F
VCC E G
viDmD F A
vii°EdimE G Bb

Seventh chords in F major

Stack one more note on each chord, every other note of the scale again, and you have the seventh chords of F major: Fmaj7 on the first note, C7 on the fifth.

NumeralSeventh chordNotes
Imaj7Fmaj7F A C E
ii7Gm7G Bb D F
iii7Am7A C E G
IVmaj7Bbmaj7Bb D F A
V7C7C E G Bb
vi7Dm7D F A C
viiø7Em7b5E G Bb D

How the chords in F major are found

Write out the F major scale: F G A Bb C D E. From each note, take every other note up the scale, three in all: F, A and C make F, the chord on the first note, and E, G and Bb make Edim, the diminished chord on the seventh. Do it on every note in turn and the seven chords follow the pattern of every major key: major, minor, minor, major, major, minor and diminished.

Each letter from A to G stands once in the scale, so the note between A and B is written Bb here, not A#.

The same steps give the chords of every key: chords in a key.

The relative minor of F major

The relative minor of F major is D minor, on its sixth note. It has the same seven notes and chords, counted from Dm: Dm, Edim, F, Gm, Am, Bb and C, so the vi of F major is the i of D minor.

Chord progressions in F major

Seventeen well-known progressions in F major: eleven of them use only the key's own chords, and the other six borrow from outside it, as the 12-Bar Blues does with F7 and Bb7. Each name leads to its chart and diagrams in F major under chord progressions.

ProgressionNumeralsIn F majorIn the key?
Pop AxisI – V – vi – IVF C Dm BbStays in the key
Pop Axis from vivi – IV – I – VDm Bb F CStays in the key
50s ProgressionI – vi – IV – VF Dm Bb CStays in the key
Major to Minor FourI – III – IV – ivF A Bb BbmBorrows A and Bbm
Royal RoadIVmaj7 – V7 – iii7 – viBbmaj7 C7 Am7 DmStays in the key
Three-Chord SongI – IV – VF Bb CStays in the key
I–IV–V–IVI – IV – V – IVF Bb CStays in the key
12-Bar BluesI7 – IV7 – V7F7 Bb7 C7Borrows F7 and Bb7
Quick-Change BluesI7 – IV7 – V7F7 Bb7 C7Borrows F7 and Bb7
8-Bar BluesI7 – V7 – IV7F7 C7 Bb7Borrows F7 and Bb7
ii–V–Iii7 – V7 – Imaj7Gm7 C7 Fmaj7Stays in the key
I–vi–ii–VImaj7 – vi7 – ii7 – V7Fmaj7 Dm7 Gm7 C7Stays in the key
Circle Turnaroundiii7 – vi7 – ii7 – V7 – Imaj7Am7 Dm7 Gm7 C7 Fmaj7Stays in the key
Circle of Fifthsvi7 – ii7 – V7 – Imaj7Dm7 Gm7 C7 Fmaj7Stays in the key
Pachelbel's CanonI – V – vi – iii – IV – I – IV – VF C Dm Am BbStays in the key
Lydian VampI – IIF GBorrows G
Mixolydian VampI – bVII – IVF Eb BbBorrows Eb

The F major scale on the guitar

Degrees: R 2 3 4 5 6 7. Notes: F G A Bb C D E.

You play the F major scale in seven positions across the neck, each within five frets in standard tuning. All of them are under the F major scale, and every other scale under guitar scales.

Keys next door to F major

Bb major and C major, on the fourth and fifth notes of F major, each differ from it by one note: Bb major has Eb where F major has E, and C major has B where it has Bb. D minor, its relative, shares all seven.

A scale's chords in TabTunix as diagrams, and four of them on the timeline, each with its numeral: E7sus4, Gmaj9, Bm11 and Em7

In the app

Play in F major

Loop F – C – Dm – Bb, or any chords of F major, in TabTunix and play over them at your tempo. Keep the loop as an exercise with a target tempo, and come back to it until the changes are clean.

More progressions in every key under chord progressions, every shape of each chord under guitar chords, and how to change chords faster.

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Questions about the chords in F major

F, Bb and C: the I, IV and V, on the first, fourth and fifth notes, and the key's three major chords. Played F – Bb – C – F they make the I – IV – V; as F7, Bb7 and C7, the 12-bar blues.

Play in F major until its chords are yours. Free, for Mac and Windows.

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