F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D♭, and E♭. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp minor, has six sharps and the double sharp F, which makes it impractical to use.

The F natural minor scale is

Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The F harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are

The scale-degree chords of F minor are:

• Tonic – F minor
• Supertonic – G diminished
• Mediant – A-flat major
• Subdominant – B-flat minor
• Dominant – C minor
• Submediant – D-flat major
• Subtonic – E-flat major

Famous pieces in the key of F minor include Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata, Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2, Ballade No. 4, Haydn's Symphony No. 49, La Passione and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.

Glenn Gould once said if he could be any key, he would be F minor, because "it's rather dour, halfway between complex and stable, between upright and lascivious, between gray and highly tinted... There is a certain obliqueness."^[1]

Hermann von Helmholtz once described F minor as harrowing and melancholy. Christian Schubart described this key as "Deep depression, funereal lament, groans of misery and longing for the grave".^[2]

Quick Facts Relative key, Parallel key ...

E-sharp minor

Alternative notation

Relative key	G-sharp major (theoretical) →enharmonic: A-flat major
Parallel key	E-sharp major (theoretical) →enharmonic: F major
Dominant key	B-sharp minor (theoretical) →enharmonic: C minor
Subdominant	A-sharp minor
Enharmonic	F minor
Component pitches
E♯, F, G♯, A♯, B♯, C♯, D♯

Close

E-sharp minor is a theoretical key based on the musical note E♯, consisting of the pitches E♯, F, G♯, A♯, B♯, C♯ and D♯. Its key signature has one double sharp and six sharps (or eight sharps). Its relative major is G-sharp major, which is usually replaced by A-flat major. Its parallel major, E-sharp major, is usually replaced by F major, as E-sharp major’s four double-sharps make it impractical to use. Its enharmonic minor is F minor whose key signature has four flats. Because of that enharmonic relationship, it is usually noted as the enharmonic equivalent of F minor.

The E-sharp natural minor scale is:

Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The E-sharp harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are:

Although E-sharp minor is usually notated as F minor, it could be used on a local level, such as bars 17 to 22 in Johann Sebastian Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, Prelude and Fugue No. 3 in C-sharp major. (E-sharp minor is the mediant minor key of C-sharp major.)

The scale-degree chords of E-sharp minor are:

• Tonic – E-sharp minor
• Supertonic – F-double-sharp diminished
• Mediant – G-sharp major
• Subdominant – A-sharp minor
• Dominant – B-sharp minor
• Submediant – C-sharp major
• Subtonic – D-sharp major

• Key (music)
• Major and minor
• Chord (music)
• Chord names and symbols (popular music)