The F Major Scale

The notes of F major are F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E — formula 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. Key signature: one flat (Bb). Its relative minor is D minor, which uses the same notes from a different home. Below: the full neck, the chords in the key, and the pentatonic that lives inside it.

F major on the fretboard

EADGBe357912EFGABbCDEABbCDEFGADEFGABbCDGABbCDEFGCDEFGABbEFGABbCDE
F major scale — every note on the neck, frets 0–12 — root notes in green.
Jamistry's interactive 3D fretboard — the scale lit up across the whole neck

Practice F major position by position — interactive fretboard →

Chords in the key of F major

Harmonising the scale gives the seven chords songs in F major are built from:

DegreeIiiiiiIVVvivii°
ChordFGmAmBbCDmEdim

The workhorses are I, IV and V (F, Bb, C) plus the vi (Dm) — the four chords of several thousand songs.

The F major pentatonic shortcut

For soloing in F major, most players reach first for the major pentatonic — the same scale minus the two most clash-prone notes. F major pentatonic: F, G, A, C, D.

EADGBe3FGACDFGACDFG
F major pentatonic — position 1

Backing tracks in F major

Scales stick when you use them. These free tracks are recorded in F major — play them right here, or open them in JamLab to see the scale on a live fretboard while the chords change:

Dusty Boots cover art

Dusty Boots

Country · 128 BPM · Key of F · F Major Pentatonic

Energetic country two-step in F — bright acoustic strum, brushed snare, pedal steel.

Jam this track with live chords →

More scales & theory

All guitar scalesMinor pentatonicMajor pentatonicBlues scaleMajor scaleMinor scalesThe 7 modesCAGED systemFretboard notesThe major scaleD minor