F natural minor scale
F natural minor is F G A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭. Natural minor: seven notes with a minor third, sixth, and seventh above the tonic, the standard minor scale, darker and softer than major.
- Formula
- 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7
- Steps
- W H W W H W W
- Notes
- 7
- Key signature
- 4 flats
- Mode
- Mode 6 of A♭ major
Notes and degrees
The F natural minor scale has seven notes: F G A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭. Each degree is named by its distance from the tonic, F.
| Degree | Note | Interval above F | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P1 | tonic | |
| 2 | M2 | supertonic | |
| 3 | m3 | mediant | |
| 4 | P4 | subdominant | |
| 5 | P5 | dominant | |
| 6 | m6 | submediant | |
| 7 | m7 | subtonic |
On the piano
Every key of the scale is lit in its own colour. Click one to hear it.
On the guitar
Every F scale tone on the first twelve frets in standard tuning. The tonic is ringed. Click a dot to hear the note.
Chords in F natural minor
Stacking thirds on each degree gives a triad and a seventh chord. The numerals are measured from the tonic against the major scale, so a ♭ means that chord root is lower than in major.
| Numeral | Triad | Seventh chord |
|---|---|---|
| i | Fm | Fm7 |
| ii° | Gdim | Gm7♭5 |
| ♭III | A♭ | A♭maj7 |
| iv | B♭m | B♭m7 |
| v | Cm | Cm7 |
| ♭VI | D♭ | D♭maj7 |
| ♭VII | E♭ | E♭7 |
What it sounds like
Natural minor follows the pattern whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. Its minor third gives the tonic triad a darker color than the major scale. The half steps sit between degrees 2 and 3 and between 5 and 6, and the seventh degree is a whole step below the octave. That missing leading tone is why natural minor cadences feel less decisive than major ones, since the tonic is not pulled upward. The minor sixth and seventh give the scale its soft, inward sound.
Where you hear it
Natural minor is the most common minor collection in European folk music, Baroque dances, and Lutheran chorales, and it runs through countless pop and rock songs. Writers choose it for melancholy, intensity, or a grave mood. Jazz players use it over minor seventh chords and minor tonic vamps. Many blues and rock riffs draw on its pitches, often with the minor pentatonic as their core. Classical composers used the harmonic and melodic minor forms alongside it, because both raise degree seven or six to supply a leading tone.
How it is built
Natural minor is the Aeolian mode, the sixth rotation of the major pattern. On C it shares every pitch with E♭ major, which makes it the relative minor of that key. Its diatonic triads on C are C minor, D diminished, E♭ major, F minor, G minor, A♭ major, and B♭ major. Compared with major, it lowers degrees 3, 6, and 7. Harmonic minor raises the seventh to create a leading tone, and melodic minor raises the sixth and seventh in its ascending form.
Scales with the same notes
These scales use the same seven pitches as F natural minor, starting from a different note.
Other F scales
- F major
- F harmonic minor
- F melodic minor
- F Dorian
- F Phrygian
- F Lydian
- F Mixolydian
- F Locrian
- F major pentatonic
- F minor pentatonic
- F blues
- F whole-tone
- F diminished (whole–half)
- F diminished (half–whole)
- F Phrygian dominant
- F Lydian dominant
- F altered
- F double harmonic major
- F Hungarian minor
- F bebop dominant
How to practise it
Play A natural minor on the white keys, A B C D E F G A, against a drone on A. Sing the scale and stop on the sixth degree, then sing it again with the seventh raised to G♯ and hear the leading tone pull upward. Compose a four-bar phrase that ends on the tonic using only natural minor chords, then add a major V chord before the final tonic and listen to how the ending changes.
Further reading
- Natural, Harmonic and Melodic Minor Scales ComparedFundamentals · 6 min
- Relative and Parallel Keys Explained: Major and Minor PartnersFundamentals · 7 min
- Diatonic Chords in Major and Minor Keys ExplainedHarmony · 7 min
Questions
What are the notes of the F natural minor scale?
The F natural minor scale is F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭. Written ascending it returns to F an octave higher.
What is the formula for the F natural minor scale?
The formula is 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 measured from the major scale. As steps that is W, H, W, W, H, W, W (W is a whole step, H a half step).
What key signature does F natural minor use?
F natural minor is written with 4 flats in the key signature.
Which chords belong to F natural minor?
Stacking thirds on each degree gives the triads Fm, Gdim, A♭, B♭m, Cm, D♭, E♭.
How do you build a natural minor scale?
Start on any note and follow the pattern whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. On A this gives A B C D E F G using only white keys. Compared with the major pattern, natural minor lowers the third, sixth, and seventh degrees. It shares its notes with C major, so A is the relative minor.
What is the difference between natural minor and harmonic minor?
Harmonic minor raises the seventh degree of natural minor by a half step. On A, natural minor is A B C D E F G while harmonic minor is A B C D E F G♯. The raised seventh gives a leading tone and turns the dominant chord major. Natural minor has no leading tone, so its cadences feel softer.
Is natural minor the same as the Aeolian mode?
Yes. Aeolian is the sixth mode of the major scale, and its notes are identical to natural minor. Modal theory describes it as a rotation of the major pattern, while key theory treats it as the minor scale built on the tonic. Both names describe the same seven pitches.