F major chord on piano

The F chord (F major) is three notes: F, A and C. Start on F, count four half steps up to A, then three more to C.

  • Froot, 1
  • Amajor 3rd, 3
  • Cperfect 5th, 5
F1A3C5

Fingers are numbered from the thumb, 1, to the little finger, 5. Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

How to play F major on piano

  1. Find F, the white key just left of a group of three black keys.
  2. Put your right thumb (finger 1) on F.
  3. Count four half steps up, black and white keys alike, to A. Rest your middle finger (3) there.
  4. Count three more half steps to C for your little finger (5).
  5. Press all three keys together.
  6. For the left hand, play the same keys with fingers 5, 3 and 1, or play F an octave lower with your little finger.

Inversions

  1. F1A3C5

    Root position

    F, A, C

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  2. A1C2F5

    1st inversion

    A, C, F

    Right hand 1, 2, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  3. C1F3A5

    2nd inversion

    C, F, A

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 2, 1.

Practice F major

Hold each position of F major for four beats, then move to the next: root position, 1st inversion, 2nd inversion, and round again. Start at 60 beats a minute and move up toward 100 once every change lands on the beat.

FAC
  1. Root positionF–A–C
  2. 1st inversionA–C–F
  3. 2nd inversionC–F–A

The shape of F major

F major is all white keys, the same pattern as C major and G major.

F major is built from the F major scale: take its 1st, 3rd and 5th notes, skipping every other note.

  1. F1
  2. G2
  3. A3
  4. B♭4
  5. C5
  6. D6
  7. E7

Smooth changes from F major

Jumping from one root position chord to the next moves the whole hand. The right inversion keeps shared notes still and moves the others the shortest way. Below are the chords built on the 4th and 5th notes of F major's own key: Bb and C.

  • FDB♭

    From F to Bb, play Bb in 2nd inversion (F–B♭–D): F stays, A moves up a half step to B♭ and C moves up two half steps to D.

  • EGC

    From F to C, play C in 1st inversion (E–G–C): F moves down a half step to E, A moves down two half steps to G and C stays.

F major on the staff and on guitar

On the treble staff, F sits in the bottom space, A in the second space and C in the third space.
134211FCFACF
E shape, 1st fretFrets, low E to high E: 1 3 3 2 1 1
××3211FACF
Small FFrets, low E to high E: x x 3 2 1 1

Keys with F major in them

  • C majorIVC, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim
  • F majorIF, Gm, Am, B♭, C, Dm, Edim
  • B♭ majorVB♭, Cm, Dm, E♭, F, Gm, Adim
  • D minorIIIDm, Edim, F, Gm, Am, B♭, C
  • G minorVIIGm, Adim, B♭, Cm, Dm, E♭, F
  • A minorVIAm, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F, G
  • B♭ minorVFrom B♭ harmonic minor, which raises the scale's 7th note a half step so this chord leads back to B♭.

Progressions that use it

  • I–IV–V, in F major

    1. IF
    2. IVB♭
    3. VC

  • I–V–vi–IV, in F major

    1. IF
    2. VC
    3. viDm
    4. IVB♭

  • vi–IV–I–V, in F major

    1. viDm
    2. IVB♭
    3. IF
    4. VC

  • I–vi–IV–V (the 50s progression), in F major

    1. IF
    2. viDm
    3. IVB♭
    4. VC

Related chords

Hearing a chord you can't name? Press its keys in the chord identifier.

Save or print the F major chord chart

F major chord on piano keyboard, notes F A C
Download the F major chord chart (PNG). Free to print and share. For every chord on one page, see the piano chord chart.

Practice notes for F major

F major is all white keys, F, A and C, like C major and G major. On the piano it is one of the easiest chords to play, which surprises guitar players, for whom F is often the first hard chord.

Where it goes wrong. Finding F. It is the white key just left of the group of three black keys, and it is easy to land on E instead, just left of it. Use the group of three as your landmark every time. The other common slip is reaching A with the second finger instead of the third, which leaves the little finger short of C.

How to practice it. Put down F, A and C with fingers 1, 3 and 5, lift, and find it again by touch. Then practice the move to B♭ in 2nd inversion (F–B♭–D): the thumb stays on F, the middle finger moves up to B♭, and the little finger to D. That pair, F to B♭, comes up constantly in the key of F.

What to listen for. All three notes evenly, with the top C not swallowed. Then lower the A to A♭ and hear F minor: same shape, darker sound.

What to learn next. B♭ major and C major, the IV and V chords in F. B♭ puts the thumb on a black key, which is the next skill to learn.

Questions

What notes are in a F major chord?

F, A and C. F is the root, A is a major 3rd above it and C is a perfect 5th above it.

How is F major different from F minor?

Only the middle note changes. F minor lowers A a half step to A♭; the other two notes stay.

What does the chord symbol F mean?

A letter on its own means a major chord, so F means F major: F, A and C. You may also see it written FM, Fmaj or FΔ.