F-sharp Piano Chords
Here we can explore every chord built on F-sharp, the first black key of each group of three. The root stays the same from chord to chord; what changes is the distance from F-sharp to the notes stacked above it, and that is what gives each chord its own quality and unique sound. Because F-sharp is a black key, the right thumb and the left 5th finger start on a black key in root position, so the hand sits further in toward the fallboard than it does for chords built on white keys. F-sharp and G-flat are the same key on the piano. The chords here are spelled from F-sharp; G-flat piano chords spells the same sounds the other way, and which name a chord takes depends on the key it appears in.
The 9 chords built on F-sharp
Triads built on F-sharp
Four triads can be built on F-sharp. Each is three notes stacked in thirds, and they differ only in their third and fifth:
- F-sharp major (F♯): F-sharp, A-sharp, C-sharp
- F-sharp minor (F♯m): F-sharp, A, C-sharp, with the third lowered to A
- F-sharp diminished (F♯°): F-sharp, A, C, with the fifth lowered as well, to C
- F-sharp augmented (F♯+): F-sharp, A-sharp, C-double-sharp, with the fifth of the major chord raised to C-double-sharp
Try playing them in that order and listening to how a single changed note changes the sound of the whole chord.
Seventh chords built on F-sharp
Adding a seventh on top of a triad gives the five seventh chords built on F-sharp:
- F-sharp dominant 7th (F♯7): the major triad with a minor seventh, F-sharp, A-sharp, C-sharp, E
- F-sharp major 7th (F♯maj7): the major triad with a major seventh, F-sharp, A-sharp, C-sharp, E-sharp
- F-sharp minor 7th (F♯m7): the minor triad with a minor seventh, F-sharp, A, C-sharp, E
- F-sharp half-diminished 7th (F♯ø7): the diminished triad with a minor seventh, F-sharp, A, C, E
- F-sharp diminished 7th (F♯°7): the diminished triad with a diminished seventh, F-sharp, A, C, E-flat
A few of these notes have names that may look unusual: C-double-sharp is played on D and E-sharp is played on F. Each chord keeps its notes on every other letter name, which is what makes it read as a stack of thirds on the staff.
Each chord’s own page shows it in every inversion, with fingering, keyboard charts, notation, and audio.
F-sharp chords and keys
All of these chords grow from the same root, F-sharp. The chords that belong together in a key are a different family, built on each note of the scale; for those, see G-flat major piano chords (on the same keys, spelled from G-flat) and F-sharp minor piano chords.