F major: scale and chords

The F major scale

F G A B♭ C D E

Key signature: one flat, B♭, on the middle line of the treble staff and the second line of the bass staff. Every B in the piece is B♭; F major has no sharps. B♭ is the first flat in the order of flats, B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ F♭, so F major, with one flat, is the first flat key on the circle of fifths. On a piano that is one black key among six white ones.

Whole and half steps: whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half; the half steps are A–B♭ and E–F. The B♭ is what keeps the half step between the 3rd and 4th notes: with B natural the scale would be F Lydian.

Piano fingering: right hand 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4, the 4th finger on B♭ and the thumb passing under to C, unlike C, G or D major, where the thumb comes back after the 3rd finger. Left hand 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1, the 3rd finger crossing over to D. The tonic arpeggio, F A C F, takes 1 2 3 5 in the right hand and 5 4 2 1 in the left.

Guitar or bass, open position: low E string frets 1 and 3 (F, G), A string open, 1 and 3 (A, B♭, C), D string open, 2 and 3 (D, E, F). The same frets on a four-string bass.

The chord on the fifth degree, C7 (C E G B♭), pulls back to F.

In Hz, from the keynote in octave 4: F4 349.2 · G4 392.0 · A4 440.0 · B♭4 466.2 · C5 523.3 · D5 587.3 · E5 659.3

Play the scale

F major scale on guitar · F major scale on piano

The F major chord (F) on guitar and piano

F A C

F is F, A and C: root, major third, perfect fifth, all three on white keys. It is the I chord here, the IV of C major and the V of B♭ major.

Guitar, the full barre: 1 3 3 2 1 1 (low E to high E). The index finger lies across all six strings at the 1st fret, the open E shape one fret up. It is the chord most beginners stall on: the barre sits at the 1st fret, where the frets are widest apart. Start with the shapes below.

Easier shapes: x x 3 2 1 1 (x = not played), the index finger barring only the B and high E; x 3 3 2 1 1 adds the C on the A string for a fuller sound. Fmaj7 (F major 7th), x x 3 2 1 0, leaves the high E open: it adds an E (F A C E), sounds softer and fits most places a plain F does.

Up the neck: x 8 10 10 10 8, the A shape at the 8th fret.

Piano: right hand 1 3 5, left hand 5 3 1. Inversions: A C F (F/A) and C F A (F/C). F major 7th on piano is F A C E, the major seventh one semitone under the top F.

Play F

Chords in F major

Tap a chord to hear it.

F (I), B♭ (IV) and C (V) are the primary chords; with Dm (vi) they are the four of the loop above. On guitar F and B♭ are both barre chords; a capo on the 3rd fret with the open D, G, A and Bm shapes sounds F, B♭, C and Dm without one.

The loop plays I–V–vi–IV: F C Dm B♭.

Keys that mix with F major

On the Camelot wheel F major is 7B (Open Key 12d). Tracks in these keys mix without a clash:

• 7A D minor relative minor, the same seven notes
• 6B B♭ major one step down
• 8B C major one step up
• 9B G major two steps up, the energy boost

F major and D minor share the one flat and all seven notes. If a song in one flat keeps resolving to Dm, with an A or A7 chord leading into it, it is in D minor. Same keynote, the other mode: F minor (4A), four flats, three notes apart (A♭, D♭, E♭); F minor's own relative major is A♭ major.

Where F major sits

Choir parts (soprano C4–G5, alto G3–D5, tenor C3–G4, bass F2–D4, where two part-writing guides agree): F4–F5 fits the soprano part; F3–F4 fits the tenor part; F2–F3 fits the bass part; no whole F-to-F octave fits the alto part. Find your own range.

As a sub or an 808, the keynote is F1 at 43.7 Hz, or F2 at 87.3 Hz an octave up. Tune an 808 to F.

What plays

Drums, an organ bass and a pluck, the Brumm app's own sounds, four bars at 123 BPM, one chord per bar. The arrows move bass and chords a semitone; the drums stay.

Chord progressions in F major

F major on horn, recorder and B♭ instruments

F is the key of the French horn and the English horn (cor anglais): both are pitched in F, so their written C sounds as concert F and F major is written as C major on their parts. The alto recorder (treble recorder in Britain) is in F too: its lowest note, all holes closed, is F4, so F major is its home scale. A B♭ trumpet, clarinet or tenor sax reads concert F major as G major (one sharp); an E♭ alto sax as D major (two sharps). Trombone, tuba, flute and strings read it as written.

Pieces and songs in F major

• Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F major, the "Pastoral", Op. 68, and Symphony No. 8
• Bach: Brandenburg Concertos No. 1 and No. 2, the Italian Concerto, BWV 971
• Dvořák: the "American" String Quartet, Op. 96. Gershwin: Concerto in F (1925). Chopin: Ballade No. 2, which ends in A minor
• The Beatles: "Yesterday" and "Hey Jude". Louis Armstrong: "What a Wonderful World"

Questions about F major

Does the F major scale have sharps?

None. F major has one flat. The key with sharps is F♯ major: F♯ G♯ A♯ B C♯ D♯ E♯, six sharps.

What is the relative minor of F major?

D minor: the same seven notes from D to D. The parallel minor, on the same keynote, is F minor.

What modes share the notes of F major?

The same notes from other starting points: G Dorian, A Phrygian, B♭ Lydian, C Mixolydian, D Aeolian (D minor), E Locrian.

Is F♯ minor the same as A major?

They are relatives, like D minor and F major: the same three sharps and the same seven notes, with a different home note. Not the same key.

How do you play F flat on piano?

F♭ is the white key E. The name only turns up in keys with many flats, such as C♭ major, where every note is a flat.

Then hum over it

The hum button opens Brumm with a short line in the key over a beat. Hum yours and it becomes an instrument. No account, no upload.

Sources

Scales and chords: Open Music Theory, musictheory.net. Camelot, Open Key: Mixed In Key, Mixgraph. Open strings: Wikipedia. Choir parts: Open Music Theory, Geneseo. Guitar shapes: Wikipedia, Barre chord. Hz: A4 = 440 Hz, ISO 16.

Nothing leaves your phone but the sound files it fetches: no microphone here, and the page keeps nothing. How the site counts visits.