Do the notes of triads created from key signatures stay within that signature

Question

F sharp minor has F# G# A B C# D E and finally ending on F# again I know chord progressions follow as Major minor minor major major minor diminished But my g# minor triad goes G# B D# but D sharp doesn’t exist in the f sharp minor scale so what am i doing wrong?

Answer 1

Caught out by the fact that there are several different minor scales!

There are the natural, harmonic and melodic minors. And chords are different depending on which is used. In fact, in F♯ minor, the notes are F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯, D, D♯, E, E♯,(yes, E♯, not F), when all three scales are included. So there's your elusive D♯!

D♯ belongs to the rising melodic minor scale in Classical terms; in the melodic minor scale in jazz terms. The scale you referenced is the natural minor.

So - simple answer - NO. The key signature for minor keys is somewhat misleading - only specifically referring to the notes found in the relative natural minor.

Answer 2

In MAJOR scales:
the major chords are on the 415 notes.
the minor chords are on the 263.
the diminished chord is on the 7.

In (natural) MINOR scales:
the MINOR chords are on the 415 notes.
the diminished chord is on the 2.
the MAJOR chords are on the 637.

Answer 3

The chord pattern you've described — major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished — applies to major scales. The pattern for (natural) minor scales is minor, diminished, major, minor, minor, major, major.

So, yes, triads within a key signature are built following the key signature, with the exceptions @Tim noted regarding melodic and harmonic minor.

For a complete listing of minor-scale triads given the different types of minor scales, see Triads derived from the different types of minor scales.

Answer 4

Do the notes of triads created from key signatures stay within that signature

Well, exactly as you word it "yes." If you are only using the tones of the key signature to make the triad, the chords will all be within that key signature.

However, if you worded it more like...

Does music with a key signature always use chord created from only the tone of the key signature?

...the answer is "no."

Tones from outside the key signature are called chromatic and are used all the time. Usually chromatic tones are used according to a number of conventions, but that is really a topic to learn more completely through the study of a good, college level harmony textbook.

F sharp minor has F# G# A B C# D E and finally ending on F# again I know chord progressions follow as Major minor minor major major minor diminished But my g# minor triad goes G# B D# but D sharp doesn’t exist in the f sharp minor scale so what am i doing wrong?

This... Major minor minor major major minor diminished is the pattern of diatonic triads in a major key.

In a minor key the pattern is... Minor diminished major minor minor major major. I hasten to add that pattern is normally extended with a diminished triad on the leading tone one half step below the tonic and a major triad on the dominant scale degree, among others.

You can play G#m as the chord rooted on G# in the key F# minor if you want, but that chord when diatonic to the key signature of F# minor will be G#dim.