The F natural minor scale has four flats — B♭, E♭, A♭, and D♭ — and shares its notes with A♭ major. It carries some of the darkest weight in the minor-key palette: Beethoven's "Appassionata" Sonata and many of Brahms's most stormy passages live in F minor.
Interval pattern
The F natural minor scale is built from this fixed pattern of whole steps (W) and half steps (H):
- Wwhole
- Hhalf
- Wwhole
- Wwhole
- Hhalf
- Wwhole
- Wwhole
Every natural minor scale uses this same pattern. The half-steps fall between scale degrees 2–3 and 5–6.
Scale degrees and intervals
Each note of the scale, with its scale-degree name and interval from the root:
| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F | Root | Tonic |
| 2 | G | M2 | Supertonic |
| 3 | Ab | m3 | Mediant |
| 4 | Bb | P4 | Subdominant |
| 5 | C | P5 | Dominant |
| 6 | Db | m6 | Submediant |
| 7 | Eb | m7 | Subtonic / Leading tone |
In melody and improvisation
F minor is the key of restless, brooding music. In jazz, it's a common ballad key when the singer wants something fuller and more shadowed than D or G minor.
Relative key
The F natural minor scale shares its notes with Ab major. Same seven pitches, different tonal centre — when a piece moves between them, no accidentals change.
Common mistakes
Four flats including D♭: easy to miss. Don't confuse F minor with F major (one flat) — they share a tonic but have completely different signatures.
Drill it
The Interval Trainer gives you a root note and an interval, and asks you to name the result. Practising the intervals of the F natural minor scale is the fastest way to internalise it as a melodic shape rather than a memorised string of notes.
Open the Interval Trainer →Or drill key signaturesRelated
Frequently asked
- What are the notes in the F natural minor scale?
- F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭.
- How many flats does F minor have?
- Four: B♭, E♭, A♭, and D♭ — same as its relative major, A♭ major.
- What is the relative major of F minor?
- A♭ major.