F♯ minor
F♯ minor is the minor key with F♯ as its tonic and three sharps in the key signature: F♯, C♯ and G♯. Its relative key is A major. On the circle of fifths C♯ minor and B minor lie beside it as neighbours.
- Tonic
- F♯
- Key signature
- 3 sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯)
- Tonic chord
- F♯–A–C♯
- Dominant
- C♯ major, C♯–E♯–G♯
- Leading tone
- E♯
- Relative key
- A major
- Neighbours
- C♯ minor, B minor
Relative of A major
In the table of relative keys on the page Circle of Fifths it says: A major with three sharps, relative key F♯ minor. The minor key begins three semitone steps below the major key and shares its key signature. Neighbours on the circle are E major with C♯ minor and D major with B minor, and according to the page neighbouring keys share six of seven notes, so modulations between them sound natural and soft.
Natural minor
The notes of the A major scale, but starting from F♯. The three sharps are written here as accidentals before F, G and C.
Harmonic minor
The seventh degree is raised from E to E♯. The E♯ is the leading tone and lies a semitone below the tonic F♯. Between D and E♯ lies the augmented second.
The leading tone E♯
In natural minor the pull to the tonic is missing. The article The leading tone describes how minor borrows the leading tone: the seventh degree is raised by a semitone. In F♯ minor that means E becomes E♯, and the dominant becomes the major chord C♯. This raising appears as an accidental in the bar, not in the key signature, as with A minor.
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Related terms
A majorC♯ minorB minorRelative keyMinorHarmonic minorCircle of fifths
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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