F♯ natural minor scale (G♭ natural minor)
F♯ natural minor scale is F♯ – G♯ – A – B – C♯ – D – E, with F♯, G♯ and C♯. Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7. Press play and follow the keys.
Notes and steps
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 |
The sound of F♯ natural minor scale
The natural minor scale is the darker twin of the major scale. It has the same notes as A major, but starting on F♯ changes where the half steps fall, and the mood turns.
Natural minor has no leading tone: E is a whole step below F♯, which is why E – F♯m sounds modal and open rather than final.
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.
Where your hands go
F♯, G♯ and C♯ are on black keys; the rest are white.
On guitar the root sits at the 2nd fret of the low E string. The box above covers frets 0–6 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 three sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯). 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).
Moving it around the guitar
Anchor points for F♯: low E string fret 2 and 14, A string fret 9. Five overlapping fingerings cover the neck, starting near frets 2, 4, 7, 9 and 11 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 3 black keys (F♯, G♯ and C♯) and 4 white.
Try it in thirds to stop it sounding like an exercise: F♯–A, G♯–B, A–C♯, B–D, C♯–E, D–F♯, E–G♯, then back down.
Practice patterns for F♯ natural minor scale
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.
- Three-note runs: F♯ G♯ A · G♯ A B · A B C♯ · B C♯ D · C♯ D E · D E F♯.
- Lean on D: F♯ D F♯ D F♯: the ♭6 is what makes natural minor darker than Dorian.
Scales to compare with F♯ natural minor
Natural minor scale in every key
F♯ natural minor scale: questions
What are the notes of the F♯ natural minor scale?
7 notes: F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯, D and E.
How many sharps or flats are in the F♯ natural minor scale?
Three: F♯, G♯ and C♯. That matches the key signature of F♯ minor.
What chords are in the F♯ natural minor scale?
Stacking thirds on each note gives F♯m (i), G♯dim (ii°), A (III), Bm (iv), C♯m (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.