Minor scales · F sharp harmonic minor
F♯ harmonic minor scale
The F♯ harmonic minor scale (F sharp harmonic minor) is F♯ G♯ A B C♯ D E♯ F♯. It uses the key signature of A major, three sharps (F♯, C♯ and G♯), and raises the seventh note with an accidental. Here it is for both hands with the standard fingering.
- 3 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯
- Relative major: A major
- RH 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3
- LH 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4
Listen with the cursor following the notes, or play along: the music waits for each note, and the keys show which finger to use.
The notes
F♯ minor has three sharps, F♯, C♯ and G♯, the key signature of A major, its relative major.
| Degree | Note | Right hand | Left hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Tonic | F♯ | 3 | 4 |
| 2Supertonic | G♯ | 4 | 3 |
| 3Mediant | A | 1 | 2 |
| 4Subdominant | B | 2 | 1 |
| 5Dominant | C♯ | 3 | 3 |
| 6Submediant | D | 1 | 2 |
| 7Leading note | E♯ | 2 | 1 |
| 8Tonic | F♯ | 3 | 4 |
Key signature
F♯ minor has three sharps (F♯, C♯ and G♯) in its key signature, the same as A major, its relative major. The harmonic minor adds one accidental, the raised seventh, E♯, which is written in each time it comes.
What makes it harmonic minor
The harmonic minor is the natural minor with its seventh raised a half step, E to E♯, written as an accidental (the key signature stays A major’s). The raised seventh is a leading note: a half step below the tonic, it pulls up to F♯, and it gives the key its major chord on the fifth note.
That leaves a step and a half between the sixth and seventh notes, D to E♯ (an augmented second), the gap that gives the harmonic minor its sound. Watch it under the fingers: 1–2 in the right hand and 2–1 in the left hand going up.
Fingering
Right hand: 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 going up. Going up, the thumb passes under the fourth finger from G♯ to A and the thumb passes under the third finger from C♯ to D. The fourth finger plays G♯: once per octave, a good landmark for where the hand is.
Left hand: 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 going up. Going up, the third finger crosses over the thumb from B to C♯ and the fourth finger crosses over the thumb from E♯ to F♯. The fourth finger plays F♯: once per octave, a good landmark for where the hand is.
The right hand starts on its third finger, with the fourth on G♯ and the thumbs on A and D. The left hand starts on 4, the same as F♯ major: 4 3 2 1, then 3 2 1, and 4 again on the top F♯.
Chords in F♯ minor
The triads built on each note of the harmonic minor. Its raised seventh makes the chord on the fifth note major, the V that leads home in most minor-key music.
- i F♯ minor
- ii° G♯ diminished
- III+ A augmented
- iv B minor
- V C♯ major
- VI D major
- vii° E♯ diminished
Music in F♯ minor
- Chopin’s Polonaise in F♯ minor, Op. 44
- Brahms’s Hungarian Dance No. 5, written for piano duet in F♯ minor
- Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1
How to practise it
- Hands separately first, slowly, saying the finger numbers. Fingering learned slowly stays; fingering found at speed changes every time.
- Practise the thumb crossings alone: play just the notes either side of each crossing, back and forth, until the thumb is in place before it’s needed.
- Then hands together, one octave, then two. The hands cross their thumbs at different places, which is what makes scales hands together hard at first.
- Use “Play along” above: it waits for each note, so you can check every note and finger at your own pace. Then Listen at ♩ = 72 and play with it.
Quick answers
- What are the notes of the F sharp harmonic minor scale?
- F♯ G♯ A B C♯ D E♯ F♯.
- What is the fingering for the F sharp harmonic minor scale?
- Right hand 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3, left hand 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4, going up one octave from F♯ (1 is the thumb). Coming down, the same fingers in reverse.
- What key signature does F♯ minor have?
- Three sharps (F♯, C♯ and G♯), the same as its relative major, A major.
Scales, then real music
Pianomi is a free app that listens to your MIDI keyboard. It takes you through scales and arpeggios at a steady tempo, grading every note and beat, and gives you new music to sight-read every day, at your level.