Its direct enharmonic, G-flat major, contains six flats in its key signature.

The scale degree chords of F-sharp major are: F-sharp major is the key of the minuets in Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony and of the String Quartet No.

The key was the favorite tonality of Olivier Messiaen, who used it throughout his work to express his most exciting or transcendent moods, most notably in the Turangalîla-Symphonie.

Some examples include a Nocturne and the Barcarolle by Chopin, the sonatas of Alexander Scriabin and several pieces from Grieg's Lyric Pieces.

Liszt was apparently fond of F-sharp major, having uplifting while meditative pieces like "Les jeux d'eaux à la villa d'este" from Années de Pèlerinage III, S.163 and "Bénediction de Dieu dans la Solitude" from the set Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses S.173 in this key.