F chords
F chords for guitar in different categories including major, minor and dominant chords.
F major
F
F major is often commonly referred to only F. The notes in the chord are F, A, C. The root note is placed on the 4th string and the 5th and 6th should not be played in the presented version. This is the small bar F chord, in which the index finger bar the two top string on the 1st fret. All F Major chords
F minor
Fm
F minor is often abbreviated Fm. The notes in the chord are F, Ab, C. The root note is placed on the 4th string. The index finger should bar the three string on the 1st fret. All Fm chords
F dominant 7th
F7
F dominant 7th is often abbreviated F7. The notes in the chord are F, A, C, Eb. The most common way to play F7 is as a barre chord. The presented fingering consists of a doubled root, a minor third, a doubled fifth and a minor seventh.
All F7 chords
F major 7th
Fmaj7
F major 7th is often abbreviated Fmaj7. The notes in the chord are F, A, C, E. The root note is placed on the 4th string and the lowest strings should not be played. The fingering consists of a root, a third, a fifth and a seventh.
All Fmaj7 chords
F minor 7th
Fm7
F minor 7th is often abbreviated Fm7. The notes in the chord are F, Ab, C, Eb. The Fm7 is most often played as a barre chord with the index fingering laying over all six strings.
All Fm7 chords
F 6th
F6
F 6th is commonly written F6. The notes in the chord are F, A, C, D. The root note is placed on the 4th string. It includes the same intervals as for the F major triad plus a major sixth. The 5th interval (C) is omitted in the presented diagram. An alternative chord version that includes all four notes is 100211.
F minor 6th
Fm6
F minor 6th is often abbreviated Fm6. The notes in the chord are F, Ab, C, D. The fingering is identical with the F minor triad, except that one string is played open. This is an inversion with D as the bass note. A version that has the F as bass note is 1301XX.
F 9th
F9
F 9th is commonly written F9. The notes in the chord are F, A, C, Eb, G. This is a movable chord with the root note placed on the 5th string.
F major 9th
Fmaj9
F major 9th is often abbreviated Fmaj9. The notes in the chord are F, A, C, E, G. The 5th interval (C) is omitted in the presented diagram. An alternative chord version that includes the 5th is 102010.
F minor 9th
Fm9
F minor 9th is often abbreviated Fm9. The notes in the chord are F, Ab, C, Eb, G. The 5th interval is omitted in the pictured version; it can also be played as 101113 including the 5th.
The notes in relationship to numbers
Here you can see the relationship between chords and scale degrees.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | G | A | Bb | C | D | E | F | G |
As you can see, an F major triad with the 1, 3, 5 intervals includes the tones F, A and C. You can, for example, also see that an Fmaj7 includes a E which is the major seventh interval.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | G | Ab | Bb | C | Db | Eb | F | G |
You can, for example, see that an Fm9 includes a G which is the ninth degree.
Concenrning dominant chords, such as F7 and F9, these are not directly derived from major or minor scales.
The relationship among chords
All F chords are constructed with an F root note and two or more additional notes.
Chord construction
F x - x - F - A - C - FFm x - x - Ab - C - F
F7 F - C - Eb - A - C - F
Fmaj7 x - x - F - A - C - E
Fm7 F - C - Eb - Ab - C - F
F6 x - x - F - A - D - F
Fm6 x - x - D - Ab - C - F
F9 x - F - A - Eb - G - C
Fmaj9 x - F - A - E - G - C
Fm9 x - F - Ab - Eb - G - C
Guitar versions of the chord
Notes in chord
F F - A - CFm F - Ab - C
F7 F - A - C - Eb
Fmaj7 F - A - C - E
Fm7 F - Ab - C - Eb
F6 F - A - C - D
Fm6 F - Ab - C - D
F9 F - A - C - Eb - G
Fmaj9 F - A - C - E - G
Fm9 F - Ab - C - Eb - G
Theoretical order of notes
Comments
Fm6: The pictured guitar version is the third inversion. This fingering is preesented here since it's considered as practical way to play the chord.
For pdf, see The Chord Reference ebook with over 800 chord charts.