F minor guitar chord (Fm)

How to play Fm

Finger numbers run 1 for the index to 4 for the little finger. String names are given as players say them — the low E is the thickest string (the 6th) and the high E is the thinnest (the 1st).

1. 1st finger (index) — lies flat across the 1st fret, covering all six strings
2. 3rd finger (ring) — 3rd fret, A string
3. 4th finger (little) — 3rd fret, D string

• Strum all six strings. Nothing is muted in this shape, so the chord should ring from the low E right through to the high E.
• Barre: 1st fret, strings 6 down to 1. Place the other fingers first and add the barre last.

Notes and intervals in Fm

Fm is built from 3 notes: F, A♭ and C.

• F — the root (R)
• A♭ — the minor 3rd (b3)
• C — the perfect 5th (5)

Across the six strings the shape sounds F · C · F · A♭ · C · F from low to high, so some notes are doubled in different octaves — that is what gives an open guitar chord its width compared with the same chord on a keyboard.

What Fm is used for

F minor is the iv in C minor and the borrowed chord that makes C, F, Fm, C sound so wistful. It is the E-minor shape barred at the 1st fret: one finger fewer than F major, but the index has to hold four strings on its own.

Common mistakes with Fm

• A barre that misses the G string. In the minor shape the index finger alone frets four strings, including the G — check it rings.
• Squeezing harder instead of rolling the finger. Pressure from the arm, with the elbow in, does more than a tighter grip.
• Placing the barre last but the other fingers in the wrong strings. Ring and little fingers go on the A and D strings, two frets up.

Chords that go with Fm

Same-root variations first, then the chords of the same key — a fourth and a fifth away, and the relative major — the shapes Fm is most often played alongside.

• F major
• F major 7
• B♭ minor
• C major
• C minor
• A♭ major