F# Minor

F#m is a solid intermediate shape once open chords feel steady. The first shape is the easiest voicing: 3 fretted strings and 1 open string. Put your middle finger on the 2nd fret of the G string. Put your index finger on the 1st fret of the C string. Put your ring finger on the 2nd fret of the E string. Leave the A string open. Strum all four strings and check each one rings cleanly.

F#m is F#, A, C#. That is a minor triad (root, minor third, perfect fifth). Play them in any order and you still get F#m. F#m sits in the keys of D major, E major, A major.

A minor chord stacks root, minor third, and perfect fifth (1–♭3–5). In F#m that is the notes above. Soft and melancholic: the emotional counterpart to major. Adds depth and longing. Raise the third and the same family becomes major.

Songs that use F#m include Crying, Pachelbel's Canon, Africa, and Someone Like You.