Guitar Chord Lesson – Learn How To Play F Minor

Learn how to play the advanced F Minor (Also known as Fm) chord on guitar, with this free guitar chord lesson. The F Minor Guitar Chord is not an easy chord to finger if you are a beginner.

If you are struggling with barre chords, like so many beginners do, then I recommend watching this  free video on how to play barre chords. This is a great video that will demonstrate some techniques for playing barre chords correctly.

The Fm Guitar Chord is found by locating the 1, b3 and 5 positions (F, Ab and C) of the F Major Scale: F, G, A, Bb, C, D, and E. The “b3” symbol is a flattened 3rd, which means that you take the 3rd step of the F Major Scale and flatten it by 1/2 step to get your Ab note.

So the notes of the F Minor chord are: F, Ab and C

Like most chords, there is more than one way to play the F Minor chord. Listed below in the chord chart diagram is the F Minor chord played on the first fret.

Here is a key that will help you read the chart:

Everything on the above chart should be self explanatory, except for the last three in the third column. They may need a bit of explaining. The O, or open symbol, simply means that you do not press down on any notes on that string. The X means you do not strum that particular string. The Barre symbol means you need to barre that particular fret. When you barre a fret you are pressing down on multiple strings at the same time with one finger.

F Minor Guitar Chord Video Demonstration

Chord Playing Tips

Be sure that you are pressing down on the strings hard enough and play each string one at a time to make sure you have a nice clean sound. If any of the strings buzz or sound muted, then something is not right.  Do not become frustrated with this or any other barre chord!  It takes a long time for many beginners to finally learn barre chords.  Just keep practicing and eventually you will build up enough strength to where barre chords become second nature.