Chords in the Key of D Minor

What are the chords in D minor?

Take the D minor scale — D E F G A Bb C — and build a chord on each note by stacking every other scale note on top of it. Those seven chords are the chords in the key:

• Dm — i, minor, built on D
• Edim — ii°, diminished, built on E
• F — III, major, built on F
• Gm — iv, minor, built on G
• Am — v, minor, built on A
• Bb — VI, major, built on Bb
• C — VII, major, built on C

The pattern of qualities is the same in every minor key — only the letters change. Learn the numerals and you can find the chords of any key in seconds.

Which chords to play first

Dm, Gm and Am — the i, iv and v — carry most songs in D minor. Add Bb (the VI) and C (the VII) for the classic minor-key turnaround.

• Bittersweet Loop — 6m–4–1–5 — Dm – Bb – F – C. Heard in Zombie, Numb.
• Andalusian Cadence — 6m–5–4–3 — Dm – C – Bb – A. Heard in Hit the Road Jack, Stray Cat Strut.
• Dorian Vamp — 6m–2 — Dm – G. Heard in Oye Como Va, Evil Ways.

The same chords as 7ths

Stack one more third on each and you get the seventh chords of D minor: Dm7, Em7♭5, Fmaj7, Gm7, Am7, Bbmaj7, C7. Same roots, same function, a jazz and soul colour. The v as a dominant seventh (Am7) is the one that pulls hardest back to Dm.

D minor and F major share every chord

F major uses the same seven notes as D minor, so it has the same seven chords — the relative major. What changes is which chord is home: Dm in D minor, F in F major. A song can drift between the two without changing a single chord shape.

• The chords of F major, with their own numerals
• The D minor scale on the neck

How to practice the chords of D minor

1. Play Dm – Gm – Am – Dm slowly, one strum per chord, until the changes are clean.
2. Open the chord builder in this key and turn on Smooth Voice Leading — it re-fingers each change so your hand barely moves.
3. Then play the scale over the chords. Every note of D minor fits every chord above, which is why the scale and the key are the same thing seen from two sides.