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Chord & Fret

Harmonic field of F minor on cavaquinho

F minor: F – G – Ab – Bb – C – Db – Eb. In the shapes below, the tonic opens with the bass on F. On the cavaquinho, four steel strings tuned D–G–B–D pack the chord into a small, bright space — every finger counts. Its four steel strings give a bright, sharp attack that cuts through the mix and drives the beat.

Fm7, 3 1 1 1Fm73111FAbCEb
i · tonic3 1 1 1
Gm7b5, 5 3 2 3Gm7b54213GBbDbF
ii° · subdominant5 3 2 3
Abmaj7, 6 5 4 5Abmaj744213AbCEbG
III · tonic6 5 4 5
Bbm7, 3 3 2 6Bbm722314FBbDbAb
iv · subdominant3 3 2 6
Cm7, 1 3 1 1Cm71423EbBbCEb
v · dominant1 3 1 1
Dbmaj7, 3 5 2 3Dbmaj72413FCDbF
VI · tonic3 5 2 3
Eb7, 1 0 2 1Eb7132EbGDbEb
VII · dominant1 0 2 1

This is the natural-minor field. In practice the v often becomes V (major) or V7 — borrowed from the harmonic minor — to create the leading tone that pulls back to the tonic.

These are the first positions of every degree of F minor on cavaquinho. In Chord & Fret, the Circle of Fifths opens the full field — every degree with all its positions, audio and the key's secondary dominants. Open in Chord & Fret →

See the full harmonic field of F minor →