PorchtoneQuick answer: the seven chords in F minor are Fm, G°, A♭, B♭m, Cm, D♭, E♭. The strongest are Fm, B♭m and Cm (the i, iv and v); most songs in Fm lean on those.
The chords
| FmiF A♭ C | G°ii°G B♭ D♭ | A♭IIIA♭ C E♭ | B♭mivB♭ D♭ F | CmvC E♭ G | D♭VID♭ F A♭ | E♭VIIE♭ G B♭ |
Progressions that sound good in Fm
- AndalusianFm – E♭ – D♭ – C (i VII VI V)
A falling bass line with Spanish drama.
- Night driveFm – D♭ – A♭ – E♭ (i VI III VII)
Dark but moving forward; huge in film and alt-pop.
Playing in Fm with a capo
If the barre chords in Fm are a stretch, put a capo on and play easier open shapes. The song still sounds in Fm.
| Capo | Play these shapes |
|---|---|
| Fret 1 | Em, G♭°, G, Am, Bm, C (shapes from Em) |
| Fret 3 | Dm, E°, F, Gm, Am, B♭ (shapes from Dm) |
Related keys
F minor shares all its chords with its relative major, A♭ major. Its closest neighbours are C minor and B♭ minor, which share six of its seven notes and make easy key changes.