# F Minor piano chord (Fm)

Fm contains F, A♭ and C. A minor third with a perfect fifth above the root. A♭ is a black key; F and C are white.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/minor/f/
- Entity: chord:minor:f
- Notes: F A♭ C
- Formula: 1 ♭3 5
- Intervals from root: P1, m3, P5
- Interval stack (semitones): 3 4
- Also written: Fm, Fm, F minor
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | F | Perfect unison | 0 |
| ♭3 | A♭ | Minor third | 3 |
| 5 | C | Perfect fifth | 7 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on F, finger 3 on A♭, finger 5 on C. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-3-5, left hand 5-3-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | F | F3 A♭3 C4 | 5/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| First inversion (Fm/A♭) | A♭ | A♭3 C4 F4 | 6/3 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Second inversion (Fm/C) | C | C4 F4 A♭4 | 6/4 | 8 st, 110 mm |

## Voicings (5)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | F3 A♭3 C4 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | A♭3 C4 F4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | C4 F4 A♭4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Open, fifth on top | F2 C3 A♭3 | 15 st, 206 mm | identical | none |
| Root and third only | F3 A♭3 | 3 st, 41 mm | subset | omits C |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C minor | iv | Subdominant |
| D♭ major | iii | Tonic substitute |
| E♭ major | ii | Predominant |
| F minor | i | Tonic, home |
| A♭ major | vi | Tonic substitute |
| B♭ minor | v | Minor dominant |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (8)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| iv, v, i | C minor | iv | Fm to Gm to Cm | Fm opens the phrase |
| i, iv | C minor | iv | Cm to Fm | 1 tone held from Cm |
| iii, vi, ii, V | D♭ major | iii | Fm to B♭m to E♭m to A♭ | Fm opens the phrase |
| I, iii | D♭ major | iii | D♭ to Fm | 2 tones held from D♭ |
| ii, V, I | E♭ major | ii | Fm to B♭ to E♭ | Fm opens the phrase |
| ii°, v, i | F minor | i | Gdim to Cm to Fm | 1 tone held from Cm |
| iv, i | F minor | i | B♭m to Fm | 1 tone held from B♭m |
| i, ♭VI, ii°, v | F minor | i | Fm to D♭ to Gdim to Cm | Fm opens the phrase |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Fm7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | adds E♭ | 3 |
| FmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | adds E | 3 |
| Fm6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | adds D | 3 |
| F | 1 3 5 | A♭ becomes A | 2 |
| Fdim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | C becomes C♭ | 2 |
| Fsus2 | 1 2 5 | A♭ becomes G | 2 |
| Fsus4 | 1 4 5 | A♭ becomes B♭ | 2 |
| Fmaj7 | 1 3 5 7 | A♭ becomes A, E | 2 |
| F7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | A♭ becomes A, E♭ | 2 |
| Fm7♭5 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 | C becomes C♭, E♭ | 2 |
| Fdim7 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭♭7 | C becomes C♭, E♭♭ | 2 |
| F7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | A♭ becomes B♭, E♭ | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {5, 8, 0}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 7]
- Normal order: [5, 8, 0]
- Prime form: (037)
- Forte number: 3-11
- Interval vector: <001110>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| F3 | 53 | 174.61 Hz |
| A♭3 | 56 | 207.65 Hz |
| C4 | 60 | 261.63 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in Fm?

Fm contains F, A♭ and C. The formula is 1, ♭3, 5.

### How do you play Fm on piano?

Play F, A♭ and C together. Right hand fingers 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1. A♭ is a black key; F and C are white.

### What are the inversions of Fm?

3 positions: root position F A♭ C, Fm/A♭, Fm/C.

### What keys contain Fm?

6: iv in C minor, iii in D♭ major, ii in E♭ major, i in F minor, vi in A♭ major, v in B♭ minor.

### What is the difference between Fm and Fm7?

Adds E♭. 3 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy Fm for small hands?

The root and third only voicing, F3 A♭3, spans 3 semitones or about 41 mm.

### What are the frequencies of Fm?

From F3 at A440 in 12-TET: 174.61, 207.65, 261.63 Hz.

### What is the set class of Fm?

Prime form (037), Forte 3-11, interval vector &lt;001110&gt;.

### How do I transpose Fm to another key?

Keep the 1, ♭3, 5 formula on the new root. Cm is C, E♭, G; C♯m is C♯, E, G♯.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:minor:f
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12