F sharp minor guitar chord is a staple in many classic songs. Mostly written as F#m, here # indicates sharp and m indicates minor. The chord brings drama and depth to song in keys like E major, A major or D major.
F sharp minor chord notes
It’s enharmonic equivalent is Gb minor. Although F#m is more often used as it is a relative minor of popular chord and key A major. F#m chord is build on a 1 st ,3 rd ,5 th note of F#minor scale (F# G# A# B C# D# E# F#). So the notes we play in the chord is F# A C#.
Playing F Sharp minor chord
There are many variations and shapes to play F#minor chord but here is a basic and most common version of F sharp minor chord. It is played by making barre on all 6 strings with index finger on the second fret in the E minor chord shape. The steps to play this chord is as follows:
- Make a bar with index finger on 2 nd fret of a guitar.
- Place your 3 rd or ring finger on 4th fret of 5th string (A string)
- 3. Place your 4th or pinky finger on 4th fret 4th string (D string).
- Strum all six strings together.
F# Minor Variation 1
You can also play this chord by playing first 3 strings of a guitar (E,B,G) with your index finger on 2nd fret instead of making barre on all 6 strings. This makes the chord easy to play on the guitar. More over it also makes possible to use the chord in songs without the need to be perfect in making barre chord. Playing a full barre chord may be a difficult task for new or beginner guitarist.
Note: A note in F#m can be played technically on an open string but because the open A string is in a low register it sounds muddy when played with F# root note.
F# Minor Variation 2
Another variation of F#m chord is played on 2 nd fret without barre and placing 3 rd finger on 4 th fret 4 th string(D string) but without bass strings i.e. 6 th and 5 th string it has a lighter sound.
Another variation of F#m chord is played on 2 nd fret without barre and placing 3 rd finger on 4 th fret on 4 th string (D string) but without bass strings i.e. 6 th and 5 th string it has a lighter sound.
F# Minor Variation 3
Another variation is also commonly used which is played on the 9th fret as a barre chord in the Am chord shape
F# Minor Chord – more variations
More variations to play F# Minor Chord on Guitar
These variations are not so common but used enough to include and learn as an interesting alternatives.
Keys include F#minor chord
F # minor key (Parallel key)
A major (Relative major)
C#minor (Dominant key)
B minor (Sub dominant)
Points to remember while playing F# Minor Chord
I) As it include barre don’t apply too much pressure on your index finger as it may get hurt. The pressure should be sufficient enough to get a good unmuted sound.
II) Also your other finger tips should be placed in proper position on respective fret as if they touch any other string they can mute the sound.
III) Start by playing each string individually. Whatever string sound that is muted, you can adjust the finger position or pressure.
Start practicing slowly, it may take little time to learn and play this chord smoothly as it include a barre in it but with practice and time you can master the chord. If you are new to playing Guitar you can check our Beginner Guitar Chords.
