Triads
F major chord
Bright, stable and resolved — the foundation of most songs.
F is the I chord in F major, IV in C major and V in B♭ major. In minor keys: III in D minor, V in B♭ minor, VI in A minor and VII in G minor.
- Notes
- FAC
- Formula
- 135
- Built from
- root · major 3rd · perfect 5th
How to play F
About the F major chord
F major is the IV chord in C and the first key with a flat (B♭). For guitarists it’s famous as the first real hurdle, because every full version of the chord needs a barre.
Playing it
There’s no open-string way to play F on guitar with the root in the bass, so the standard shape is a barre across the 1st fret (133211). While you build strength, you can play just the top four strings of the same shape (xx3211).
On piano, F sits entirely on white keys.
On ukulele the usual F shape is 2010, using two fingers.
Related chords
F shares two of its three notes with Dm (F and A), its relative minor, and with Am (A and C). That overlap is why these chords sound so natural next to each other — and why they can often stand in for one another.
Move a single note and F becomes a different chord: lower A to A♭ for Fm, add E♭ for F7, add E for Fmaj7 and raise A to B♭ for Fsus4.
