Fm piano chord — the keys, the inversions, the theory

Fm is a minor chord built from F, Ab, C. Below: the keys to press, every inversion with its own diagram, the intervals it is made of, the keys whose scale contains it, and a progression that actually uses it. Press any diagram to hear it.

Fm

F · Ab · C

Piano keyboardC4C5

Semitones above the root: 0 – 3 – 7

The third is minor — one semitone lower than in a major chord — which is where the darker colour comes from.

Inversions of Fm

  • Root position

    F · Ab · C · bass F

  • Inversion 1

    Ab · C · F · bass Ab

  • Inversion 2

    C · F · Ab · bass C

Same chord, different note at the bottom. Press a diagram to hear it — inversions are how you move between chords without jumping your hand across the keyboard.

Keys that contain Fm

  • Dbiii
  • Abvi
  • Ebii

In Ab it does this job: I – V – vi – IV

  1. Ab
  2. Eb
  3. Fm
  4. Db

Questions