F7#5 is a 7th sharp 5th chord, and on the piano it is played from the notes F, A, C#, D#. On piano it is played from the keys F, A, C#, D#, root position first, then in inversions. This page is a complete reference for it: notes and intervals, fingerings, mistakes to avoid, the keys it belongs to and a short practice routine.
What notes are in the F7#5 chord?
The F7#5 chord is a 7th sharp 5th chord, and its notes are fixed: F, A, C#, D#. Every voicing on every instrument uses these same notes, in some order and in some octave — change one of them and you are playing a different chord. The table below lists each note with its interval from the root F, so you can see the structure of F7#5 at a glance. On the piano, F7#5 is the keys F, A, C#, D#, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| F | Root |
| A | 3 |
| C# | #5 |
| D# | b7 |
The root is F, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in F7#5 are 3, #5, b7. Those intervals are the fingerprint of the 7th sharp 5th quality — any chord with the same interval pattern, on any root, is the same kind of chord. On the piano, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
F7#5 sounds sharp and colourful, a dominant chord that refuses to sound ordinary. That character comes straight from the intervals above, not from the instrument: the same notes on piano, guitar or ukulele carry the same colour, even though the voicing changes. On the piano, F7#5 is the keys F, A, C#, D#, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
Comparing F7#5 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, 7#5 against dominant 7th: F7#5 raises the 5th to C# where the plain dominant 7th keeps the perfect 5th C. The raised 5th adds lift and tension at the same time. Hearing the comparison matters more than reading it: play F7#5, then play the chord it is compared with above, and let your ear find the note that changed. On the piano, play the keys F, A, C#, D# slowly and listen for each note of F7#5 in turn.
How to play F7#5 on piano
On the piano, F7#5 is played from the keys F, A, C#, D#. In root position the lowest note is F, the root, with the other notes stacked above it in the order F, A, C#, D#. Play it with the right hand first, then with the left hand an octave lower, so both hands know the shape of F7#5 before you try it in a progression.
First inversion of F7#5 puts A in the bass, with the notes in the order A, C#, D#, F. The chord is still F7#5 — the notes have not changed, only their order — but the bass note changes how it connects to the chord before and after it. Use this inversion when the bass line wants to step to A rather than jump to F, and practise moving from root position to this inversion without lifting your hand off the keys more than you must.
Second inversion of F7#5 puts C# in the bass, with the notes in the order C#, D#, F, A. The chord is still F7#5 — the notes have not changed, only their order — but the bass note changes how it connects to the chord before and after it. Use this inversion when the bass line wants to step to C# rather than jump to F, and practise moving from root position to this inversion without lifting your hand off the keys more than you must.
Third inversion of F7#5 puts D# in the bass, with the notes in the order D#, F, A, C#. The chord is still F7#5 — the notes have not changed, only their order — but the bass note changes how it connects to the chord before and after it. Use this inversion when the bass line wants to step to D# rather than jump to F, and practise moving from root position to this inversion without lifting your hand off the keys more than you must.
For fingering, a good starting point for F7#5 in root position in the right hand is thumb on F, then one finger per note in order, with the little finger on the top note D#. For the left hand, mirror it: little finger on the low F and thumb on the top note. When a note is a black key — C#, D# — let your longer fingers take it, since they reach the black keys more easily. Practise F7#5 in root position and first inversion, hands separately, then together, at a slow tempo, and use the Piano Chord Finder to check the voicing on the keyboard.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make F7#5 sound wrong on the piano, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Playing a perfect 5th. If the 5th is C the chord is a plain dominant 7th. The sharpened 5th C# is the note that makes it altered. On the piano, the root-position keys F, A, C#, D# show F7#5 most clearly.
Confusing it with the augmented triad. The augmented triad has no 7th. F7#5 adds the flattened 7th D# to the augmented triad — that 7th is essential. On the piano, F7#5 is the keys F, A, C#, D#, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
Using it as a tonic. F7#5 is an altered dominant. It wants to resolve to the tonic a fourth above its root. On the piano, the root-position keys F, A, C#, D# show F7#5 most clearly.
Voicing it too low. C# low down can sound muddy. Keep the sharpened 5th in a higher octave than the root. On the piano, the root-position keys F, A, C#, D# show F7#5 most clearly.
Where F7#5 is used
F7#5 is not a diatonic triad in any major or minor key, because it is an extended or altered chord, but its base triad belongs to the key of C major, the key of F major, the key of A# major. a V chord in minor keys and jazz standards, where the raised 5th lifts the dominant. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward A# major, the key a perfect fourth above F, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where F7#5 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the piano, play the keys F, A, C#, D# slowly and listen for each note of F7#5 in turn.
Because F7#5 is an extended or altered chord, it appears in progressions as a colour or a dominant rather than as a diatonic staple. Try it in place of the plain F triad in a progression you already know, and listen to how the extra notes change the feel — that substitution is the usual way extended chords enter real music. The Chord Progression Builder lets you try F7#5 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the piano, the root-position keys F, A, C#, D# show F7#5 most clearly.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in F7#5 on guitar, F7#5 on ukulele, F7#5 on bass, and the scales that fit over it are the F major scale and the F minor pentatonic scale. Learning F7#5 on the piano and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — F, A, C#, D# — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising F7#5
A short worked example makes F7#5 concrete. Play the four-chord progression A# – F – Gm – D# in A# major, the key F7#5 most often resolves toward: A# – F – Gm – D#. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how F7#5 sounds in that sequence — whether it feels like home, like a lift, or like a chord on its way somewhere else. Then play the same four chords in a different order, starting on F7#5 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the piano, F7#5 is the keys F, A, C#, D#, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
For a second exercise, play F7#5 and then the chord a fourth above F, back and forth, four times each. That move — a chord and the chord a fourth above it — is the most common resolution in Western music, and it is the move F7#5 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing F7#5 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: F, A, C#, D#. Naming the notes while you play them is what turns a shape into knowledge you can use in any key. Test yourself with the Practice Chord Quiz and keep time with the Metronome as the tempo rises. On the piano, F7#5 is the keys F, A, C#, D#, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between F7#5 and F7?
F7 has the perfect 5th C; F7#5 raises it to C#. F7#5 sounds tenser and more exotic, and it is used as an altered dominant in jazz. On the piano, the keys above put that note under your fingers.
Where is F7#5 used?
F7#5 is an altered V chord in jazz and minor-key progressions, used before a resolution to the tonic. It adds lift and tension to a dominant chord. On the piano, the keys above put that note under your fingers.
How do you play F7#5 on the piano?
In root position, play the keys F, A, C#, D#, with F as the lowest note. That is the basic shape of F7#5 on the piano. The inversions above put a different note in the bass, and the Chord Inverter shows every inversion of F7#5 on the keyboard.
What is the first inversion of F7#5?
The first inversion of F7#5 puts A in the bass, with the notes in the order A, C#, D#, F. The chord is still F7#5 — only the bass note has changed — and it is the inversion to use when the bass line steps to A.
Which fingers do you use for F7#5 on piano?
In the right hand, start with the thumb on F and one finger per note in order, ending with the little finger on D#. In the left hand, mirror it with the little finger on the low F. Longer fingers take the black keys, so check which notes of F7#5 are black keys before you settle on a fingering.