D minor chord on piano

The Dm piano chord (D minor) is three notes: D, F and A. Start on D, count three half steps up to F, then four more to A.

  • Droot, 1
  • Fminor 3rd, ♭3
  • Aperfect 5th, 5
D1F3A5

Fingers are numbered from the thumb, 1, to the little finger, 5. Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

How to play D minor on piano

  1. Find D, the white key between the two black keys of a group of two.
  2. Put your right thumb (finger 1) on D.
  3. Count three half steps up, black and white keys alike, to F. Rest your middle finger (3) there.
  4. Count four more half steps to A for your little finger (5).
  5. Press all three keys together.
  6. For the left hand, play the same keys with fingers 5, 3 and 1, or play D an octave lower with your little finger.

Inversions

  1. D1F3A5

    Root position

    D, F, A

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  2. F1A2D5

    1st inversion

    F, A, D

    Right hand 1, 2, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  3. A1D3F5

    2nd inversion

    A, D, F

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 2, 1.

Practice D minor

Hold each position of D minor for four beats, then move to the next: root position, 1st inversion, 2nd inversion, and round again. Start at 60 beats a minute and move up toward 100 once every change lands on the beat.

DFA
  1. Root positionD–F–A
  2. 1st inversionF–A–D
  3. 2nd inversionA–D–F

The shape of D minor

D minor is all white keys, the same pattern as E minor and A minor.

D minor is built from the D natural minor scale: take its 1st, 3rd and 5th notes, skipping every other note.

  1. D1
  2. E2
  3. F3
  4. G4
  5. A5
  6. B♭6
  7. C7

Smooth changes from D minor

Jumping from one root position chord to the next moves the whole hand. The right inversion keeps shared notes still and moves the others the shortest way. Below are the chords built on the 4th and 5th notes of D minor's own key: Gm and A.

  • DGB♭

    From Dm to Gm, play Gm in 2nd inversion (D–G–B♭): D stays, F moves up two half steps to G and A moves up a half step to B♭.

  • EAC♯

    From Dm to A, play A in 1st inversion (C♯–E–A): D moves down a half step to C♯, F moves down a half step to E and A stays.

D minor on the staff and on guitar

On the treble staff, D sits in the space just below the staff, F in the bottom space and A in the second space.
××231DADF
Open DmFrets, low E to high E: x x 0 2 3 1
5fr×13421DADFA
Am shape, 5th fretFrets, low E to high E: x 5 7 7 6 5

Keys with D minor in them

Progressions that use it

  • i–VI–III–VII, in D minor

    1. iDm
    2. VIB♭
    3. IIIF
    4. VIIC

  • i–iv–v, in D minor

    1. iDm
    2. ivGm
    3. vAm

  • i–VII–VI–V (Andalusian cadence), in D minor

    1. iDm
    2. VIIC
    3. VIB♭
    4. VA

  • iiø7–V7–i, in D minor

    1. iiø7Em7♭5
    2. V7A7
    3. iDm

Related chords

Hearing a chord you can't name? Press its keys in the chord identifier.

Save or print the D minor chord chart

D minor chord on piano keyboard, notes D F A
Download the D minor chord chart (PNG). Free to print and share. For every chord on one page, see the piano chord chart.

Practice notes for D minor

D minor is all white keys, D, F and A, like E minor and A minor. It sits right in the middle of the keyboard and is many players’ first minor chord.

Where it goes wrong. Finding D: it is the white key between the two black keys of a group of two. The chord then skips one white key each time. The slip to watch for is the little finger landing on B instead of A, which turns the chord into something else entirely.

How to practice it. Play D minor, then D major: the middle finger moves from F up to the black F♯. Then practice the change to G minor in 2nd inversion (D–G–B♭): the thumb keeps D, the middle finger moves up to G, and the little finger to the black B♭.

What to listen for. The sound you are listening for is three notes evenly balanced, with the F in the middle clear enough to hear. If the F disappears, the chord loses its minor color.

What to learn next. G minor and A major, the iv and V chords in D minor. The A major uses C♯, the raised 7th, which pulls back to D.

Questions

What notes are in a D minor chord?

D, F and A. D is the root, F is a minor 3rd above it and A is a perfect 5th above it.

How is D minor different from D major?

Only the middle note changes. D major raises F a half step to F♯; the other two notes stay.

What does Dm mean?

The small m means minor: Dm is D minor, D, F and A. You may also see it written Dmin or D−.