F natural minor scale
F natural minor scale is F – G – A♭ – B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭, with A♭, B♭, D♭ and E♭. Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7. Play it, then slow the tempo until every note is clear.
F natural minor scale, note by note
From F upward the gaps are W H W W H W W (W = whole step, H = half step). The half steps fall between G–A♭ and C–D♭.
| Degree | Note | Interval from F | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F | root | |
| 2 | G | major second | |
| ♭3 | A♭ | minor third | |
| 4 | B♭ | perfect fourth | |
| 5 | C | perfect fifth | |
| ♭6 | D♭ | minor sixth | |
| ♭7 | E♭ | minor seventh |
How the natural minor scale sounds
Play F natural minor next to F major and three notes drop: the 3rd, 6th and 7th. That lowered 3rd is what makes it sound minor; the lowered 6th and 7th make it softer and less pushy at the top.
Its signature sound is D♭ and E♭, the major chords on the ♭6 and ♭7, stepping back to Fm: D♭ – E♭ – Fm.
Compared with F major scale, F natural minor scale has A♭, D♭ and E♭ where the other has A, D and E; the other four notes are shared. Hear F major scale and compare.
F natural minor scale uses the same seven notes as A♭ major, starting from F instead of A♭.
On piano and on guitar
On the piano it uses four black keys (A♭, B♭, D♭ and E♭) and three white.
On guitar the root sits at the 1st fret of the low E string. The box above covers frets 0–5 and holds 17 notes of the scale across all six strings; play it low string to high.
The key of F minor
Songs in F minor are built from these notes, so the key signature has four flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭). The relative major is A♭ major: same notes, starting on the 3rd degree. The parallel major, F major, starts on the same note with different notes above it.
Chords and progressions in F minor
Chords built on each note
Stack every other note of the scale on each degree and you get 7 chords. These are the chords of the key. Tap to hear each one.
If you know F natural minor scale, you already know the notes of C Phrygian (starting on the 5th note, C), D♭ Lydian (starting on the 6th note, D♭), E♭ Mixolydian (starting on the 7th note, E♭), G Locrian (starting on the 2nd note, G), A♭ major (starting on the 3rd note, A♭) and B♭ Dorian (starting on the 4th note, B♭).
Finding F natural minor on the neck
Anchor points for F: low E string fret 1 and 13, A string fret 8. Five overlapping fingerings cover the neck, starting near frets 1, 3, 6, 8 and 10 on the low E string. On guitar it shares every note with the relative major, so the same boxes work with a different root in mind.
On the piano, F natural minor scale uses 4 black keys (A♭, B♭, D♭ and E♭) and 3 white.
A good drill once the scale is under your fingers: play it in thirds, skipping one note each time. Here that's F–A♭, G–B♭, A♭–C, B♭–D♭, C–E♭, D♭–F, E♭–G.
Three ways to practise F natural minor
Running a scale straight up and down only teaches the order. These patterns use the same 7 notes and train your ear and fingers to jump around inside F natural minor scale.
- Groups of three: F G A♭ · G A♭ B♭ · A♭ B♭ C · B♭ C D♭ · C D♭ E♭ · D♭ E♭ F.
- Target D♭: F D♭ F D♭ F: the ♭6 is what makes natural minor darker than Dorian.
Close relatives of F natural minor scale
Natural minor scale in every key
F natural minor scale: questions
What are the notes of the F natural minor scale?
F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D♭ and E♭, then F again at the octave. Formula: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7.
How many sharps or flats are in the F natural minor scale?
Four: A♭, B♭, D♭ and E♭. That matches the key signature of F minor.
What chords are in the F natural minor scale?
Stacking thirds on each note gives Fm (i), Gdim (ii°), A♭ (III), B♭m (iv), Cm (v), D♭ (VI) and E♭ (VII).
What's the difference between F natural minor scale and F major scale?
A♭, D♭ and E♭ in F natural minor; A, D and E in the other. Everything else is the same.
Which major scale has the same notes as F natural minor scale?
A♭ major. F natural minor is A♭ major played from its 6th note, F.
Generated from the step pattern 2-1-2-2-1-2-2 and checked by the site's tests. Updated September 2026.