Sevenths
F♯ minor 7th chord
Smooth and soulful; a staple of jazz, R&B and funk.
F♯m7 is the ii7 chord in E major, iii7 in D major and vi7 in A major. In minor keys: i7 in F♯ minor and iv7 in C♯ minor.
- Notes
- F♯AC♯E
- Formula
- 1♭35♭7
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · perfect 5th · minor 7th
How to play F♯m7
About the F♯ minor 7th chord
F♯m7 is the vi7 of A major and the iii7 of D — a smooth, bittersweet chord in those guitar-friendly keys.
Playing it
On guitar, F♯m7 is one of the friendlier shapes: 242220 needs just two fingers and lets the open strings ring.
On piano, F♯m7 has two black keys (F♯ and C♯) and two white keys.
On ukulele the usual F♯m7 shape is 2420, using three fingers.
Related chords
Take away the root and the other three notes form A (A C♯ E) — so you can think of F♯m7 as A with F♯ added underneath.
F♯m7 contains exactly the same notes as A6. Which name fits depends on which note is in the bass and what key you’re in.
Move a single note and F♯m7 becomes a different chord: drop the E for F♯m, raise A to A♯ for F♯7, lower E to D♯ for F♯m6 and swap A for B for F♯7sus4.
Where you’ll hear it
You’ll find F♯m7 in common progressions such as F♯m7–B7–Emaj7 (the jazz cadence in E major).
