How to Play the F Sharp (F#) Chord on Guitar

F sharp major (written F#) is the chord that often appears when a song moves to B or B minor, and it's the main chord in the key of F#. Like F, its full version is a barre chord, which is why many beginners skip it. You don't have to. There's an easy four-string version that sounds great, and a clear path to the full barre.

This guide covers five ways to play F#, the notes in it, where it shows up and how to practice it.

What is the F# chord?

Note	Role
F#	Root
A#	Major third
C#	Fifth

F# sounds bright and strong. Change the A# to A and you get F#m, its darker relative. If you've learned the F chord already, good news: F# is the same shape, just one fret higher. Our guide to the F chord covers the shape in detail.

1. Easy F# (four strings)

This version plays only the top four strings and needs just a two-string mini barre.

1. Lay your index finger across the B and high e strings at the 2nd fret.
2. Put your middle finger on the 3rd fret of the G string.
3. Put your ring finger on the 4th fret of the D string.
4. Strum the top four strings, starting from the D string.

If you play the small F (one fret lower), this is the identical shape moved up a fret. Check each string with the ring test; the B string under your index finger is the one most likely to buzz.

2. The full F# barre chord

The full F# is the E major shape barred at the 2nd fret. It's the same as the full F barre, one fret higher, and many people find it slightly easier because the frets are a little narrower.

1. Barre your index finger across all six strings at the 2nd fret.
2. Put your middle finger on the 3rd fret of the G string.
3. Put your ring finger on the 4th fret of the A string.
4. Put your pinky on the 4th fret of the D string.
5. Strum all six strings.

The B and high e strings are played by the barre alone. Roll your index finger slightly onto its bony edge and keep it close to the fret wire. Our guide to barre chords for beginners walks through barre technique step by step.

3. F#7: the chord that leads somewhere

F#7 adds one note (E) to F#. It has a tense, "pulling" sound that wants to resolve to B or B minor, so it's very common right before those chords.

• Easy F#7: ring finger on the 4th fret of the D string, middle on the 3rd fret of the G string, index on the 2nd fret of the B string, high e open. Strum the top four strings.
• Barre F#7: the full F# barre with the pinky lifted off the D string.

Seventh chords like this are explained in our guide to seventh chords.

4. F#5 (power chord)

Index on the 2nd fret of the low E string, ring on the 4th fret of the A string, pinky on the 4th fret of the D string. Strum only those three strings. In rock songs with distortion, F#5 can replace F# completely. See our power chords guide.

5. F# at the 9th fret (A shape)

Barre the A to high e strings at the 9th fret, then flatten your ring finger across the D, G and B strings at the 11th fret. Strum from the A string. This higher version is bright and punchy, and useful when the rest of the song sits up the neck.

The capo shortcut

Put a capo on the 2nd fret and play an E major shape: it sounds as F#. For whole songs in the key of B (B, E and F#), a capo on the 4th fret turns them into G, C and D. Our guide on how to use a capo explains why this works.

Which F# should you use?

Version	Best for
Easy F# (four strings)	Beginners; quick changes; playing with a band
Full barre at the 2nd fret	Full strumming; solo acoustic playing
F#7	Right before B or Bm
F#5	Rock and distorted guitar
A shape at the 9th fret	Songs played higher on the neck

Where F# shows up in songs

• Key of B: B, E and F# are the three main chords (I, IV and V). F# leads strongly back to B.
• Key of B minor: songs in B minor often use F# (or F#7) instead of F#m, because the major chord pulls back to Bm much more strongly. This is the "harmonic minor" sound.
• Key of D: F#7 often appears as a passing chord leading to Bm, a classic move in pop and folk.
• Key of F# major: F# is home. Most guitarists use a capo for these songs.

F# progressions to practice

Progression	Key	Sound
B – E – F# – B	B major	Strong, classic rock and pop
Bm – G – D – F#	B minor	Dramatic, cinematic
Bm – Em – F#7 – Bm	B minor	Dark, classical minor
D – F#7 – Bm – G	D major	Pop with a twist

Use easy versions of F#, B and Bm at first, and strum four beats per chord. Our guide to how to play the B chord has easy versions of B, the chord F# most often leads to.

Practicing changes into F#

• B → F# (easy versions): both live around the 2nd to 4th frets on the top strings, so the change is short.
• Bm → F#: from the easy Bm, keep your hand in place and rearrange the fingers.
• E → F# (barre): the E major shape is the F# barre shape. Practice playing open E, then sliding the shape up two frets with a barre behind it.

That last change is a great way to understand barre chords: the barre simply replaces the nut. Our drills on how to change chords faster help with all of these.

Common F# problems

• Buzzing B or high e string: the barre isn't pressing firmly near the fret. Roll the index finger onto its edge.
• Dead G string: the middle finger is touching the B string. Arch it more so it comes down on its tip.
• Low strings ringing on the easy version: start your strum on the D string.
• Tired hand: relax your thumb and use a gentle pull from your arm instead of squeezing.

If buzzing doesn't go away with better technique, the guitar may need a setup. See why guitar chords buzz for every cause.

F# vs F#m vs F

Chord	Notes	Sound
F	F, A, C	Bright; one fret lower than F#
F#	F#, A#, C#	Bright and strong
F#m	F#, A, C#	Darker, sadder

Learn F# and F#m together: in the barre versions, the only difference is the middle finger on the G string. Our guide to how to play F#m covers the minor version, and easy versions of hard chords has simple shapes for more tricky chords.

A one-week plan for F#

1. Day 1: learn the easy four-string F#. Check the B string under your index finger.
2. Day 2: practice easy B ↔ easy F# for three one-minute rounds.
3. Day 3: play B – E – F# – B, using easy versions of B and F#.
4. Day 4: learn easy F#7 and play Bm – Em – F#7 – Bm.
5. Day 5: try the full barre F#. If you can play the full F, slide it up one fret.
6. Day 6: play Bm – G – D – F# with four strums per chord.
7. Day 7: play D – F#7 – Bm – G for two minutes without stopping.

Why F# turns up in songs in B minor

In the natural B minor scale, the chord built on F# is F#m. But F#m doesn't pull strongly back to Bm. Raising one note (A to A#) turns it into F# major, and that A# sits just one fret below B, leaning into the home chord. This is the same trick that puts E7 into songs in A minor and B7 into songs in E minor. Our guide to chords in the key of A minor explains this "harmonic minor" sound in more detail.

Fretwork's path introduces barre chords after your open chords are solid, with small daily steps that build hand strength gradually. The first two stages are free, no card required.

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