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- F natural minor scale
F natural minor scale
F G A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭: the F natural minor scale has 4 flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭). Change the root or the scale type below to see any other scale.
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Notes of the F natural minor scale
The F natural minor scale has 7 notes: F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D♭ and E♭. Like every natural minor scale, it follows the pattern W–H–W–W–H–W–W (W = whole step, H = half step) from F up to the next F.
It has 4 flats: B♭, E♭, A♭ and D♭.
| Degree | Note | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | F | Tonic |
| 2 | G | Supertonic |
| ♭3 | A♭ | Mediant |
| 4 | B♭ | Subdominant |
| 5 | C | Dominant |
| ♭6 | D♭ | Submediant |
| ♭7 | E♭ | Subtonic |
Chords in F minor
Building a triad on each note of the scale gives the chords of F minor: Fm, Gdim, A♭, B♭m, Cm, D♭ and E♭.
| Degree | Triad | Seventh chord |
|---|---|---|
| i | Fm (F A♭ C) | Fm7 (F A♭ C E♭) |
| ii° | Gdim (G B♭ D♭) | Gm7♭5 (G B♭ D♭ F) |
| III | A♭ (A♭ C E♭) | A♭maj7 (A♭ C E♭ G) |
| iv | B♭m (B♭ D♭ F) | B♭m7 (B♭ D♭ F A♭) |
| v | Cm (C E♭ G) | Cm7 (C E♭ G B♭) |
| VI | D♭ (D♭ F A♭) | D♭maj7 (D♭ F A♭ C) |
| VII | E♭ (E♭ G B♭) | E♭7 (E♭ G B♭ D♭) |
Key signature and related keys
F minor uses the key signature with 4 flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭). Its relative major is A♭ major: the same notes and key signature, starting on A♭. Its parallel major is F major, which starts on the same note, F.
Harmonic and melodic minor
The F harmonic minor scale raises the seventh note by a half step: F G A♭ B♭ C D♭ E. The raised seventh, E, is the one that makes the dominant chord major.
The F melodic minor scale raises both the sixth and the seventh on the way up: F G A♭ B♭ C D E (D and E). In classical music it usually comes back down as the natural minor.
All major and minor scales
Major scales
- C major scale
- G major scale
- D major scale
- A major scale
- E major scale
- B major scale
- F♯ major scale
- D♭ major scale
- A♭ major scale
- E♭ major scale
- B♭ major scale
- F major scale