F-sharp minor
Minor key with three sharps; relative minor of A major.
What it means
F-sharp minor is the minor key with three sharps in its key signature: F-sharp, C-sharp, and G-sharp. Its tonic is F-sharp, and its relative major is A major. On the circle of fifths it lies three steps on the sharp side. In the harmonic and melodic forms E-sharp is added as a raised seventh degree, the leading tone.
Musical use
F-sharp minor is regarded as a key of gloomy, often passionate or plaintive expression and is chosen less often than neighbouring keys. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a prelude and fugue in F-sharp minor in his Well-Tempered Clavier, and Frédéric Chopin used the key for his Polonaise op. 44. On string instruments F-sharp minor lies less comfortably than the neighbouring keys because few open strings sound along.
F-sharp minor should be distinguished from F minor, which has four flats and lies far away, and from A major, its relative major with the same key signature but a brighter character.
Performance practice
Practise the harmonic minor scale with the leading tone E-sharp especially carefully, since it is written as “E-sharp” and sounds like F. Check the intonation of the three raised notes, and read pieces in this key slowly at first until the three sharps come naturally.